Abstract: Objective: To analyze the bacteriostasis and healing effects of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) combined with Topical Oxygen Therapy (TOT) for chronic wounds, and the relationship between them. Methods: Totally 96 patients with chronic wounds were randomly divided into the intervention group and the control group, with 48 patients in each one. The intervention group was treated NPWT combined with TOT for 14 days after debridement, while the control group was treated with NPWT for 14 days after debridement, after that followed by standard Moist Wound Therapy 3 times a week, and followed up to healing or 5 months. Efficacy indicators: the change of bacterial positive rate and bacteriostatic rate of the two groups before and 14 days after the intervention, and the wound healing rate and healing time of the two groups during the follow-up period. Results: The bacterial positive rate of the intervention group on the 14th day of intervention was significantly lower than that of the control group (14.58% vs 54.17%, P<0.05), and the bacteriostatic rate of the intervention group on the coexistence of single and two bacteria were significantly higher than that of the control group (73.08% vs 11.11%, 100.00% vs 66.67%, all P<0.05). The wound healing rate in the intervention group was higher than that in the control group (100.00% vs 89.13%, P<0.05), healing time shortened by 20.84 days (P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between the bacteriostasis rate and wound healing in the intervention group (r=0.480, P<0.05), while there was no correlation between the bacteriostasis rate and wound healing in the control group (r=0.083, P>0.05). Conclusion: NPWT combined with TOT can enhance the bacteriostasis and optimize the healing effects. The bacteriostasis can promote the healing of chronic wounds, and can provide new ideas and methods for the nursing and management of chronic wounds.

Key words: Negative Pressure Wound Therapy; Topical Oxygen Therapy; chronic wound; wound healing