News on dressings and NPWT for lower limb wounds
Seance of wednesday 24 september 2025 (Le traitement des plaies chroniques des membres inférieurs)
DOI number : 10.26299/fm9m-qa74/emem.2025.39.04
Abstract
Wound care is characterized by its dynamism, as evidenced by scientific publications, public communications, conferences, and training courses in the field of wounds and wound healing. True “innovation” remains still rare and most often involves technological developments.
We will present some papers from recent literature, with a particular focus on the all-too-rare randomized controlled clinical trials. The growing number of clinical studies reflects professionals' awareness of the need for scientific evidence in this field.
We will also review the technical improvements made to modern dressings, which meet various objectives such as increased drainage and absorption performance, but also simplified care and greater comfort for both caregivers and patients. In the same objectives, we will discuss negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), which offers new presentations suitable for both outpatients with simple wounds and inpatients with complex one.
We will review changes to the conditions for inclusion on the LPPR (French national health insurance reimbursement list) and revisions to reimbursement rates affecting certain dressings.
In the era of e-health, free or paid smartphone apps designed by non-profit organizations, manufacturers, and, more recently, the French national health insurance system have come to play a significant role in helping healthcare professionals choose the best dressing for a given situation.
Finally, we will attempt to look to the future by imagining the dressing(s) of tomorrow. Will it be made from materials sourced from the marine world (cod) or the plant world? Will it have a diagnostic purpose, for example, the ability to detect the development of bacterial colonization within a wound? Or will it be a medicine?
In any case, the road ahead for any innovative medical device is long and requires high-quality clinical investigations and the evidence needs for inclusion on the List of Products and Services eligible for reimbursement.
S. MEAUME - Geriatric Wound Care and Healing Department, Rothschild Hospital, APHP Sorbonne University, Paris
We will present some papers from recent literature, with a particular focus on the all-too-rare randomized controlled clinical trials. The growing number of clinical studies reflects professionals' awareness of the need for scientific evidence in this field.
We will also review the technical improvements made to modern dressings, which meet various objectives such as increased drainage and absorption performance, but also simplified care and greater comfort for both caregivers and patients. In the same objectives, we will discuss negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), which offers new presentations suitable for both outpatients with simple wounds and inpatients with complex one.
We will review changes to the conditions for inclusion on the LPPR (French national health insurance reimbursement list) and revisions to reimbursement rates affecting certain dressings.
In the era of e-health, free or paid smartphone apps designed by non-profit organizations, manufacturers, and, more recently, the French national health insurance system have come to play a significant role in helping healthcare professionals choose the best dressing for a given situation.
Finally, we will attempt to look to the future by imagining the dressing(s) of tomorrow. Will it be made from materials sourced from the marine world (cod) or the plant world? Will it have a diagnostic purpose, for example, the ability to detect the development of bacterial colonization within a wound? Or will it be a medicine?
In any case, the road ahead for any innovative medical device is long and requires high-quality clinical investigations and the evidence needs for inclusion on the List of Products and Services eligible for reimbursement.
S. MEAUME - Geriatric Wound Care and Healing Department, Rothschild Hospital, APHP Sorbonne University, Paris