Barbed versus traditional sutures for wound closure in knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Wei Zhang,Deting Xue,Hui Xie,Zhijun Pan,Dongcai Hu,Erman Chen,Honghai Ma,Houfa Yin

doi:10.1038/srep19764

Abstract

Sutures are an increasing focus of research in knee arthroplasty (KA). Whether knotless barbed sutures (KBS) are safe and efficient in KA remains controversial. The objective of our study is to compare the clinical outcomes of KA according to wound closure method: KBS versus knotted traditional sutures (KTS). To clarify this, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nine articles involving 10 studies were included in this study. The dataset consisted of 1729 patients with 1754 KA. Among these, 814 patients’ wounds were closed with KBS and 915 with KTS. Our analysis indicates that KBS is preferable for KA wound closure given its shorter wound closure time and lower total cost; postoperative Knee Society scores and complication rates were similar to those of surgeries using KTS. The subgroup analysis revealed that closure of arthrotomy with KBS appears to be associated with a lower risk of complications. This meta-analysis indicates that use of KBS in KA reduces operative time and cost. KBS is the preferred option for wound closures, including arthrotomy and reattachment of subcutaneous and subcuticular tissues. Given the possible biases, adequately powered and better-designed studies with longer follow-up are required to reach a firmer conclusion.

Highlights

In knee arthroplasties (KA) using the KBS method, wound closure times were on average 3.56 minutes shorter than in those using KTS (n = 971, Weighted mean differences (WMD) = − 3.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) = − 5.05 to − 2.08, P < 0.01, I2 = 94%, P < 0.01)
Our study found that in KA, KBS was associated with shorter wound closure times and lower costs than KTS
Use of KBS in KA leads to shorter operation times and lower total costs