Morad Chughtai1, Nipun Sodhi1, Michael Jawad1, Jared M Newman1, Anton Khlopas1, Anil Bhave2, Michael A Mont1. 1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio. 2. Center for Joint Preservation and Replacement, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopaedics, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cryotherapy is widely utilized to enhance recovery after knee surgeries. However, the outcome parameters often vary between studies. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to compare (1) no cryotherapy vs cryotherapy; (2) cold pack cryotherapy vs continuous flow device cryotherapy; (3) various protocols of application of these cryotherapy methods; and (4) cost-benefit analysis in patients who had unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: A search for "knee" and "cryotherapy" using PubMed, EBSCO Host, and SCOPUS was performed, yielding 187 initial reports. After selecting for RCTs relevant to our study, 16 studies were included. RESULTS: Of the 8 studies that compared the immediate postoperative outcomes between patients who did and did not receive cryotherapy, 5 studies favored cryotherapy (2 cold packs and 3 continuous cold flow devices). Of the 6 studies comparing the use of cold packs and continuous cold flow devices in patients who underwent UKA or TKA, 3 favor the use of continuous flow devices. There was no difference in pain, postoperative opioid consumption, or drain output between 2 different temperature settings of continuous cold flow device. CONCLUSION: The optimal device to use may be one that offers continuous circulating cold flow, as there were more studies demonstrating better outcomes. In addition, the pain relieving effects of cryotherapy may help minimize pain medication use, such as with opioids, which are associated with numerous potential side effects as well as dependence and addiction. Meta-analysis on the most recent RCTs should be performed next.
BACKGROUND: Cryotherapy is widely utilized to enhance recovery after knee surgeries. However, the outcome parameters often vary between studies. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to compare (1) no cryotherapy vs cryotherapy; (2) cold pack cryotherapy vs continuous flow device cryotherapy; (3) various protocols of application of these cryotherapy methods; and (4) cost-benefit analysis in patients who had unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: A search for "knee" and "cryotherapy" using PubMed, EBSCO Host, and SCOPUS was performed, yielding 187 initial reports. After selecting for RCTs relevant to our study, 16 studies were included. RESULTS: Of the 8 studies that compared the immediate postoperative outcomes between patients who did and did not receive cryotherapy, 5 studies favored cryotherapy (2 cold packs and 3 continuous cold flow devices). Of the 6 studies comparing the use of cold packs and continuous cold flow devices in patients who underwent UKA or TKA, 3 favor the use of continuous flow devices. There was no difference in pain, postoperative opioid consumption, or drain output between 2 different temperature settings of continuous cold flow device. CONCLUSION: The optimal device to use may be one that offers continuous circulating cold flow, as there were more studies demonstrating better outcomes. In addition, the pain relieving effects of cryotherapy may help minimize pain medication use, such as with opioids, which are associated with numerous potential side effects as well as dependence and addiction. Meta-analysis on the most recent RCTs should be performed next.
Authors: Albert T Anastasio; Kevin X Farley; Scott D Boden; Thomas L Bradbury; Ajay Premkumar; Michael B Gottschalk Journal: J Arthroplasty Date: 2019-08-08 Impact factor: 4.757
Authors: Munayati Munajat; Nor Azlin Mohd Nordin; Nor Hamdan Mohamad Yahya; Ahmad Hafiz Zulkifly Journal: Medicine (Baltimore) Date: 2019-09 Impact factor: 1.889