Abstract
We performed a randomized prospective study to assess the clinical effectiveness of postoperative continuous cryotherapy in patients who had received total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Fourteen patients who had received TKA were randomized into two groups; an icing group and a control group. “Icing group” patients had a cooling pad of ICING SYSTEM V2000® (Japan Sigmax, Tokyo, Japan) applied to the knee postoperatively. Pain was measured according to the amount of analgesics and by a visual analogue pain scale (VAS). Blood loss was recorded as total drain output over 48 hours and as total hemoglobin decrease from preoperative to postoperative day 2. Additionally, range of motion (ROM), length of hospital stay after surgery, and operative complications were recorded. Blood loss tended to be smaller, and VAS was significantly lower in the “icing group” than in the “control group”. There were no significant differences between the groups for ROM or length of hospital stay, and there were no complications caused by icing. The continuous icing system appeared to be effective for the reduction of postoperative blood loss and pain, and had some advantages; ease of use, limited need for nursing intervention, and delivery of consistent cold temperatures.
