Acceptance of maggot wound therapy in a group of people with chronic wounds

Introduction:
To evaluate the level of acceptance of maggot debridement therapy (MDT) and selected variables that potentially affect the acceptance of the method in a group of patients with chronic wounds.

Material and methods:
The study was conducted among patients qualified for MDT. All participants gave informed consent to participate in the study. The collected data were statistically developed using IBM SPSS v20 software. A diagnostic survey and estimation were used as the research method; the research tool was a protocol consisting of 3 parts (questionnaires).

Results:
The study included 94 subjects, including 41.5% (n = 39) women and 58.5% (n = 55) men, ranging in age 34–86 years. The mean age was 70.09 ±13.12 years. The time of wound formation varied, ranging 1.5–38 months. Wound area ranged from 24 to 225 cm². The clinical evaluation reported chronic wounds, such as pressure injuries 31.9% (n = 30), mixed ulcers 22.3% (n = 21), venous ulcers 13.8% (n = 13), and arterial ulcers 11.7% (n = 11). The medium (average) level of acceptance was recorded in 41.5% of the respondents (n = 39) and a high level of acceptance in 57.4% (n = 54). It was not confirmed that such variables as age, gender, and type and area of the wound determined the level of acceptance (p > 0.05).

Conclusions:
Acceptance of MDT in the study sample was at above average levels. Longer time since wound onset determined a high level of acceptance of this form of therapy. Variables such as age, gender, pain intensity, and type and area of wound had no effect on the level of MDT acceptance.