Therapeutic efficacy of vacuum sealing drainage-assisted irrigation in patients with severe multiple-space infections in the oral, maxillofacial, and cervical regions.

OBJECTIVE: We compared the clinical efficacy between the vacuum sealing drainage (VSD)-assisted irrigation technique and traditional abscess incision and drainage technique in the treatment of severe multiple-space infections in the oral, maxillofacial, and cervical regions.

METHODS: Data of 73 patients with severe oral, maxillofacial, and cervical infections, who were admitted to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department at the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University between June 2014 and May 2017, were retrospectively collected. Patients were divided into two groups based on the treatments. The cure duration, incision length, physician workload (frequency of dressing-change), and treatment costs were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS: Of 73 patients, 38 were treated with the VSD-assisted irrigation technique, and 35 with the traditional technique. All patients were cured following treatment. The cure duration, surgical scar length, and physician workload were smaller for the former group than for the latter group (p < 0.05). There was no difference in the treatment costs between the two groups (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION: VSD-assisted irrigation technique used in the treatment of severe multiple-space infection in the oral and maxillofacial cervical regions shows favorable clinical effects and enables short treatment duration, lesser pain-experience, and high clinical and therapeutic efficacy.