Safe practices of complex wounds at home during a pandemic

Aim: Wound management has been very challenging during the Covid-19 pandemic. Surgical field infections are crucial and serious issues of surgery as they increase mortality, morbidity length of inpatient stay and hospitalisation costs. Our study on patients who developed surgical field infections and wound management at home during pandemic has been very successful.

Fact: 51-year-old female patient with diabetes mellitus (DM), venous and liver insufficiency, develops slough tissue on the wound site after breast cancer mastectomy operation. A combination of cadoxemer iodine and single-use negative pressure wound therapy is applied. Single use NPWTs are wearable devices and suitable for decrease in wound size and depth especially for comorbid patients during pandemic. Dressings were replaced every 3-4 days. Wound images have been sent to the wound clinic regularly.

Result: By using cadoxemer iodine which acts as an antiseptic on the wound surface and disposable negative pressure wound therapy at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, the patient was not hospitalised which avoided hospitalisation costs and unnecessary use of antibiotics. With this method, full success was achieved in the wound management of patients with comorbid diseases during the pandemic period.