2020 Volume 25 Issue 2 Pages 57-65
The active drainage method involves mobilizing the affected limb after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) to promote effective drainage of the blood within the knee. This study aimed to prospectively compare the active drainage method with the conventional drainage method, and to clarify its effects on drain management after TKA. Patients who underwent TKA were randomly assigned to the conventional drainage control group (conventional group) or the active drainage method group (active group). The volume of postoperative blood drainage was measured in each group. The swelling of the affected limb was determined by measuring the circumferential diameter of the limb preoperatively and on the second, third and fourth postoperative days. A significant increase in blood drainage was observed after TKA in the active group (555 ± 42 mL) compared with the conventional group (248 ± 25 mL) (p = 0.001). The limb circumference was significantly smaller in the active group than in the conventional group above the knee (45.2 ± 0.74 cm vs. 42.3 ± 0.6cm, p = 0.002), at the knee center (43.1 ± 0.62 cm vs. 40.3 ± 0.44 cm, p = 0.004), and below the knee (36.5 ± 0.5 cm vs. 35.0 ± 0.44 cm, p = 0.03), while the circumference decreased in the early postoperative days. The active drainage method reduced knee swelling in the early postoperative period via active mobilization of the affected limb, and did not increase the incidence of complications.
