Skin Closure Tape and Surgical Staples in Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Staples closure technology has been widely used in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and achieved good results. In recent years, a new type of material called skin closure tape (SCT) has been applied to TKA which also showed good treatment results. However, since it is still not clear yet which one is better, this paper collects literatures for statistical analysis so as to provide evidence for the use of SCT in TKA. METHODS: The comparative study on effects between SCT and staples is reviewed after the primary release of TKA in PubMed, the Cochrane library, and the EMBASE database up to March 2019. The two researchers independently screened the literature and evaluated the quality of the literature using bias risk tools. RESULTS: A total of four studies (3330 knees) have been included in our meta-analysis. For the main point, the results show that the SCT can reduce readmission rates compared to staples (RR 0.68, 95% CI 0.49–0.95, P=0.03), with no significant difference in complications (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.27–2.64, P=0.77). Secondly, the results suggest that although there is no significant difference in removal time between the two groups, the SCT can reduce pains, save time and costs, and have a better cosmetic effect. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates SCT as a closure method with fewer complications and faster speed compared with staples. Nevertheless, the cost and pain need to be further confirmed because of the small sample size included in this study.