Introduction: Diabetes is a modern time disease. There are all the more chronic patients in
which we find diabetic complications. Those usually involve complicated wounds that
require particular treatments. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to present the
treatment of diabetic foot ulcer with the application of negative pressure therapy. We wanted
to demonstrate the important role the nurses have with the negative pressure treatments, as
well as to establish how different methods of performing a treatment impact on the efficiency
of the wound healing. Methods: We have used the descriptive methods with the overview
of the Slovenian and foreign professional and scientific literature, with the publishing period
between 2005-2018. The overview of the literature took place in the period between January
and June of 2018. The Slovenian literature was reviewed using the COBISS.SI database,
with the keywords: diabetes, diabetic foot, V.A.C. therapy, treatment with the negative
pressure, nurse. The English literature was reviewed using the databases Science Direct,
CINAHL, Medline, with the keywords: diabetic foot ulcer, diabetic foot wound, negative
pressure wound therapy, pressure, type of therapy, wound filler, nurse. We included 11
articles in the qualitative analysis for the answers on the research question. Results: The
research results have shown that the therapy with the negative pressure could be used as an
effective treatment for diabetic foot ulcers. Different values of negative pressure are used,
between 70-125 mm Hg, however, based on the obtained literature, it is not possible to
determine the most effective values. Based on the small number of the obtained articles, it
is not possible to determine the most effective methods or period of time for the pump usage.
Discussion and conclusion: The usage of the negative pressure is one of the effective
methods used for healing complex diabetic foot ulcers. The nurse, as a part of the medical
team, has a key role in the process of preparing the patient and the wound for the treatment
with negative pressure and, at the same time, is the first to potentially notice the
complications. A physician is the one to determine the methods of the pump usage and the
values of the negative pressure, however the nurse must be familiar with the usage of the
pump, so that the potential changes can be understood and responded to at the timely manner.
|
