Effects of simultaneous versus staged VAC placement in the treatment of deep neck multiple-space infections at a tertiary hospital over a four-year period in China

Abstract

Purpose: Surgical drainage is an essential part of treatment for deep neck infections (DNIs) or deep neck multiple-space infections (DNMIs). With the emergence and application of new technologies and new materials, vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) in the treatment of DNMIs has been reported. However, reports on the timing of VAC placement are limited. Herein, we compared simultaneous versus staged VAC placement in the treatment of DNMIs. Patients and Methods: Medical data from 24 patients with DNMIs who had received VAC treatment in the last five years were analyzed. The patients were classified into a simultaneous VAC placement group (11 patients) and a staged VAC placement group (13 patients) according to the timing of VAC placement when incision and drainage were performed. Results: No differences in baseline characteristics were found between the two groups. All patients in the two groups survived and recovered. The hospitalization duration (days), time to wound healing (days), number of debridement procedures, and disease course (days) in the simultaneous VAC placement group and staged VAC placement group were 10 (4–18) and 22 (8–35), 21 (4–39) and 50 (9–86), one (1–2) and two (1–4), and 31.5 (11–49) and 56 (19–98), respectively. The results in the simultaneous VAC placement group were better than those in the staged VAC placement group (P = 0.001, 0.016, 0.045, and 0.016, respectively). The numbers of VAC sponge changes in the simultaneous VAC placement group and staged VAC placement group were two (1–2) and two (1–4), respectively, with no statistically significant difference (P = 0.336). Conclusion: Simultaneous VAC placement during incision and drainage may shorten the wound healing time, hospitalization duration, and disease course and may reduce the number of debridement procedures.