Evaluation of negative pressure wound therapy to closed laparotomy incisions in acute care surgery.

Background: Surgical site complications in the form of wound infections are a major burden to the healthcare system. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) as delivered by a surgical incision management system (SIMS) is a novel approach to improve wound healing when applied to closed incisions. However, data is limited in its application to laparotomy incisions in the acute care surgery setting.