Primary and secondary outcomes comparing suture to staples for skin closure after orthopaedic surgery
| Incidence | Heterogeneity | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outcome | Sutures | Staples | Relative risk (95% CI | p Value | I2 (%) | χ2 (p Value) |
| Infection8–10 12 15–17 24–29 | 17|563 | 21|692 | 1.06 (0.46 to 2.44) | 0.89 | 18 | 0.27 |
| Dehiscence8 10 12 16 26 28 29 | 6|308 | 21|441 | 0.96 (0.32 to 2.84) | 0.94 | 0 | 0.50 |
| Inflammation8 16 | 3|59 | 22|72 | 0.22 (0.00 to 12.07) | 0.46 | 84 | 0.01* |
| Discharge8 9 16 | 8|123 | 17|135 | 0.66 (0.14 to 3.23) | 0.61 | 58 | 0.09 |
| Necrosis15 16 | 1|92 | 3|97 | 0.51 (0.07 to 3.88) | 0.52 | 0 | 0.43 |
| Allergic reaction9 15 26 | 2|226 | 1|211 | 1.37 (0.22, 8.60) | 0.74 | 0 | 0.59 |
| Abscess10 29 | 2|115 | 2|244 | 1.86 (0.22 to 15.71) | 0.57 | 0 | 0.37 |
| Mean difference (95% CI) | ||||||
| Closure time17 28 (min) | Sutures vs staples | 5.84 (4.52 to 7.15) | < 0.001 | 0 | 0.55* | |
Primary and secondary outcomes comparing sutures to staples for skin closure after orthopaedic surgery. All outcomes (95% CI) are calculated using the Mental-Haeszel random-effects model. Heterogeneity is calculated using the I2 statistic. χ2 significance level dictates whether the heterogeneity between studies is significant (*p<0.05).