No clear advantage to use of wound drains after unilateral total knee arthroplasty: a prospective randomized, controlled trial

Abstract

We conducted a prospective randomized, controlled trial in 100 patients to compare the postoperative use of wound drains with the use of no drains in patients who underwent unilateral primary total knee arthroplasty to determine differences in blood loss, range of motion, wound healing, complications (deep vein thrombosis, wound infection), and need for blood transfusions. The patients, who underwent surgery between February 2006 and February 2007, were randomly divided into 2 groups of 50 each: group A, treated without a drain, and group B, treated with a drain. The between-group difference in total blood loss was significant: 535 ± 295 mL in group A and 853 ± 331 mL in group B. Group A needed comparatively less blood transfused than group B did. Differences in wound infection, incidence of deep vein thrombosis, and range of motion were not statistically significant between groups. We found no clear advantage to the use of wound drains in unilateral total knee arthroplasty.