Background: To investigate the efficacy of new foams with boric acid particles combined with a negative pressure wound treatment (NPWT) system in open fractures with tissue defects secondary to trauma.
Methods: Forty-nine patients with open fractures secondary to trauma with soft tissue defects who were admitted between 2016 and 2018 were included in the study. Patients were examined in two groups. In Group 1, boric acid-impregnated foams combined with the NPWT system were used in 27 patients, and in Group 2, silver nitrate-impregnated foams combined with NPWT systems were used in 22 patients. In addition to evaluating the broad-spectrum antibacterial feature of silver nitrate, the antimicrobial, angiogenetic, and epithelializing effects of boric acid were investigated macroscopically and histopathologically.
Results: A reduction in wound size and granulation was observed in each group. Macroscopically, the reduction in wound size, epithelialization and granulation were pronounced in Group 1 and in Group 2. Microscopically, the number of fibroblasts, collagen synthesis, and angiogenesis were significantly increased in Group 1 compared with Group 2.
Conclusion: In this clinical trial, both the broad spectrum antimicrobial feature of boric acid and its positive effect on the cells responsible for wound healing were found to be an alternative compared with silver nitrate. The use of new foams with boric acid particles combined with the NPWT system may be a good alternative method in the treatment of open wounds due to trauma.