A New Dressing System for Wound in Enhanced-Recovery Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Randomized and Controlled Trial

Abstract

BackgroundCurrently, there is a paucity of recommendations in regards to dressing selection within the enhanced recovery after surgery protocol. We devised a new dressing system to accelerate the recovery after total hip arthroplasty (THA). We aimed to present our experience with this new dressing system as an adjunct to wound management in THA and to evaluate its performance. MethodsFrom September 2020 to August 2021, we prospectively enrolled 124 patients who underwent a primary THA. The patients were randomly assigned to the intervention (the new dressing system group) or the control (the traditional gauze dressing) group. The primary outcome measures of this study were numbers of dressing changes, postoperative lengths of stay, wound scores including the Stony Brook Scar Evaluation Scale and ASEPSIS scores and wound-related complications. The secondary outcomes include satisfaction scores, dressing-related costs, and pain and functional recovery scores. ResultsThe intervention group numbers of dressing changes and postoperative lengths of stay were significantly less than the control group (P < .001, P < .001). During the one-month follow-up, the Stony Brook Scar Evaluation Scale in the intervention group was significantly better than that in the control group (P < .001). The intervention group satisfaction was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < .001). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of dressing-related costs and pain and function scores. ConclusionThe new dressing system could significantly reduce the number of dressing changes and postoperative lengths of stay and increase patient satisfaction scores, which can be an ideal adjunct to wound management in enhanced-recovery THA.