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Non‐drainage versus drainage in tourniquet‐free knee arthroplasty: a prospective trial
Author(s) -
Zhou Kai,
Wang Haoyang,
Li Jinglong,
Wang Duan,
Zhou Zongke,
Pei Fuxing
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
anz journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.426
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 1445-1433
DOI - 10.1111/ans.14183
Subject(s) - medicine , tourniquet , drainage , surgery , prospective cohort study , total knee arthroplasty , anesthesia , ecology , biology
Background It is still unknown whether drainage is necessary and non‐drainage is safe and acceptable after tourniquet‐free total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We aim to investigate whether non‐drainage use is accepted in TKA that is performed without a tourniquet. Methods Clinical data of 80 adult patients who did or did not receive drainage in our centres from August 2015 to December 2015 were prospective investigated. Results The drainage group exhibited reduced hidden blood loss (47.6 ± 43.6 mL versus 151.1 ± 97.1 mL, P < 0.001), less calf swelling (d1: 3.2% versus 5.2%, P = 0.02) and milder knee active pain (d3: 4.9 ± 1.9 versus 5.9 ± 1.2, P = 0.01; d5: 3.2 ± 1.6 versus 4.2 ± 1.5, P = 0.003) than the non‐drainage group. However, the non‐drainage group had higher haemoglobin level (d1: 112.1 ± 10.6 g/dL versus 106.1 ± 12.4 g/dL, P = 0.026; d3: 99.5 ± 9.6 g/dL versus 92.7 ± 13.1 g/dL, P = 0.011) and less haematopoietic medication usage (42.1% versus 66.6%, P = 0.03) in the initial postoperative period following TKA. Earlier postoperative time to ambulation (22.4 ± 12.3 h versus 30.1 ± 14.6 h, P = 0.01) and shorter length of stay (5.5 ± 1.2 days versus 6.3 ± 1.7 days, P = 0.02) were found in the non‐drainage group. Conclusion It is practicable to abandon wound drainage in uncomplicated, primary, tourniquet‐free TKA.