A Survey of Patients with Wounds Healing by Secondary Intention; an Assessment of Prevalence, Aetiology, Duration and Management

This study collected data using a cross-sectional survey to ascertain how many patients were receiving treatment for surgical wounds healing by secondary intention (SWISHI) over a two-week period in Hull and East Riding. The definition used covered wounds left open purposely at the time of surgery, this included wounds that underwent surgical debridement and those closed at the time of operation that subsequently broke down and were left to heal by secondary intention following dehiscence. 187 patients were identified with SWHSI — estimated to be 0.41% per 1,000 population — the mean age was 58, 62% of these were male. Approximately half of the wounds reported dehisced postoperatively. For dehisced wounds, the median time between surgery and wound breakdown was 9 days. Most patients were treated by district nursing teams who applied dressings to treat the wounds, only 6% received negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) and one patient received larval therapy. The survey provided a previously unknown insight into the occurrence, duration, treatment and types of surgery that lead to SWHSI, which will be of value to patients, healthcare professionals and researchers. The information gathered is important in itself and may facilitate the planning of further detailed SWHSI research regarding treatments, outcomes, costs and quality of life of patients. The data may form a basis for future studies, although these should have higher numbers of participants or follow patients for longer to enable in-depth analysis in order to determine specific risk factors in patients and to develop targeted interventions to prevent dehiscence. Further research may compare different therapies/ dressings to ascertain both effectiveness and cost of the outcomes.