Closed Suction Drainage May Not be Beneficial in Revision Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Study

BackgroundMany studies on closed suction drainage (CSD) in primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) have demonstrated that it has no definite benefit. However, evidence of the clinical benefits of CSD in revision THA has not yet been established. Therefore, this retrospective study aimed to investigate the benefits of CSD in revision THA.Materials and MethodsWe reviewed 107 hips of patients who underwent revision THA between June 2014 and May 2022, excluding cases of fracture and infection. We compared perioperative blood test results, calculated total blood loss (TBL), and postoperative complications, including allogenic blood transfusion (ABT), wound complications, and deep venous thrombosis (DVT), between the groups with and without CSD. Propensity score matching was conducted to balance patients' demographics and surgical factors.ResultsABT, wound complications, and DVT were observed in 10.3% (n=11), 5.6% (six), and 5.6% (six) of patients, respectively. There were no significant differences in ABT, calculated TBL, wound complications, and DVT between all patients and propensity score-matched patients with or without CSD. The calculated TBL was approximately 1200 mL and showed no significant difference between the two groups in the matched cohort (p=0.40) but tended to have a greater volume in the drain group than in the non-drain group.ConclusionThe routine use of CSD in revision THA for aseptic loosening may not be useful in clinical practice.