Comparison Between Conventional Wound Care Procedures and Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in Fournier’s Gangrene Patients

Sep 29, 2026

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Objective: Fournier’s gangrene is a severe, rapidly progressing necrotizing fasciitis affecting external genital, perineal, and perianal regions, with high morbidity and mortality even under modern sepsis care. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) may accelerate healing, yet its effectiveness in Indonesia remains underexplored. Methods: A prospective cohort study enrolled 36 patients to compare conventional wound care versus NPWT. Primary endpoints included pain (VAS), length of stay, mortality, redebridement frequency, and material costs. Results and conclusion: NPWT reduced pain, shortened hospitalization, and lowered wound-care costs without increasing mortality or additional surgical debridement.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Pages5

Reading Time13 min

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UROLOGY RESEARCH & PRACTICE ORIGINAL ARTICLE General Urology Urology Research and Practice 2025;51(5):203-207 DOI: 10.5152/tud.2025.25099 Comparison Between Conventional Wound Care Procedures and Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in Fournier’s Gangrene Patients ABSTRACT Objective: Fournier’s gangrene is a severe, rapidly progressing form of necrotizing fasciitis affecting the external genitalia, perineum, and perianal regions. It is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality, even with modern sepsis management. While negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has emerged as a promising method to accelerate wound healing, its effectiveness in the Indonesian clinical setting remains underexplored. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of conventional wound care and NPWT in patients with Fournier’s gangrene. Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled 36 patients with Fournier’s gangrene. The primary outcomes were assessed based on several clinical parameters: pain, measured using the Visual Analog Scale; length of hospital stay; mortality; frequency of re-debridement; and the cost of wound care materials. Results: The NPWT group demonstrated significantly better outcomes in several key areas. Patients treated with NPWT reported lower pain scores (4.06 ± 0.66) compared to those receiving conventional care (6.33 ± 0.84), a statistically significant difference (P = .001) . Negative pressure wound therapy also resulted in a shorter average hospital stay (15.12 ± 4.86 days) compared to conventional care (20.06 ± 4.39 days), with a P-value of .049. Furthermore, wound care costs were significantly lower in the NPWT group ($570.24 ± $1761.74) than in the conventional care group ($985.71 ± $1213.42), with a P-value of .001. Conclusion: Negative pressure wound therapy serves as an effective adjunct to conventional care for Fournier’s gangrene. The findings suggest that NPWT significantly reduces pain, shortens hospital stays, and lowers treatment costs without increasing mortality or the need for additional surgical debridement. Keywords: Fournier’s gangrene, necrotizing fasciitis, NPWT Introduction Fournier’s gangrene is a severe, rapidly progressive form of necrotizing fasciitis localized to the external genitalia, perineum, and perianal region.1,2 The disease is characterized by swift tissue destruction and is often complicated by sepsis, which contributes to its high mortality rate, reported to be approximately 40% despite advancements in sepsis management. Timely diagnosis and intervention are critical for improving patient outcomes.3,4 Effective management requires both medical resuscitation and aggressive surgical debridement. The surgical approach involves the radical excision of all necrotic and gangrenous tissue, which typically leaves a large, open wound.5,6 Post-surgical wound care protocols vary and may include the use of modalities such as honey, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) . Negative pressure wound therapy has gained considerable attention for its ability to reduce exudate and bacterial load, decrease tissue edema, and Copyright @ Author(s)– Available online at [http://urologyresearchandpractice.org/](http://urologyresearchandpractice.org/) Content of this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 International License. Muhammad Sangaji Ramadhan Safendra Siregar Akhmad Mustafa Department of Urology, Universitas Padjadjaran Faculty of Medicine, Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung Corresponding author: Muhammad Sangaji Ramadhan 􀀍 [sangajiramadhan@gmail.com](sangajiramadhan@gmail.com) [Received:](Received: September 14)[ September 14](Received: September 14), 2025 Accepted: October 1, 2025 Publication Date: December 5, 2025 Cite this article as: Ramadhan MS, Siregar S, Mustafa A. Comparison between conventional wound care procedures and negative pressure wound therapy in Fournier’s gangrene patients. Ur

FAQs

What condition does the study focus on?

The study focuses on Fournier’s gangrene, a severe necrotizing fasciitis affecting the external genitalia, perineum, and perianal regions.

How was pain measured and what did the study find?

Pain was measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Patients treated with NPWT had significantly lower pain scores than those receiving conventional wound care.

Which outcomes were compared besides pain?

The study compared length of hospital stay, mortality, frequency of re-debridement, and the cost of wound care materials between conventional care and NPWT.

Sep 29, 2026

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