SynthesisArchives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery2018
The efficacy and safety of knotless barbed sutures in total joint arthroplasty: a meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials.
Synthesis in Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Comparison between barbed and non-barbed sutures for fascial closure in abdominal surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Surgery today · 2026Pooled it
- Incidence and outcome characteristics of adverse event in surgery: an assessment based on systematic reviews of barbed suture.BMC medical research methodology · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of barbed versus standard sutures on wound complications in total knee arthroplasty: A meta-analysis.International wound journal · 2023Pooled it
- Staples versus sutures for skin closure in hip arthroplasty: a meta-analysis and systematic review.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Benefits of barbed suture utilisation in gastrointestinal anastomosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England · 2020Pooled it
- Knotless suture in revision total joint arthroplasty: a prospective randomized controlled trial.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2024Trial
- Consensus document on the management of wound closure in orthopaedic surgery.EFORT open reviews · 2025Review
- Article
- The Use of Barbed Sutures in Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review on Clinical-Surgical Outcomes, Costs, and Complications.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Barbed Suture versus Interrupted Suture in Posterior Cervical Spine Surgery: Are They Equivalent?Spine surgery and related research · 2022Article
- Barbed Sutures for Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Have Shorter Wound Closure Time and are Cost-Effective in Comparison to Traditional Sutures: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of 16 Randomized Controlled Trials.Indian journal of orthopaedics · 2022Article
- A comparison of barbed continuous suture versus conventional interrupted suture for fascial closure in total hip arthroplasty.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Impact of Whole-Layer Barbed Suture Closure on the Postoperative Effect and Aesthetic Satisfaction with Incision After Knee Arthroplasty.Patient preference and adherence · 2022Article
- New Perspective for Soft Tissue Closure in Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (MRONJ) Using Barbed Sutures.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Real-World Outcomes of Patients Undergoing Open Colorectal Surgery with Wound Closure Incorporating Triclosan-Coated Barbed Sutures: A Multi-Institution, Retrospective Database Study.Medical devices (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2021Article
- Editor's Spotlight/Take 5: Is the Risk of Infection Lower with Sutures than with Staples for Skin Closure After Orthopaedic Surgery? A Meta-analysis of Randomized Trials.Clinical orthopaedics and related research · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe knotless barbed sutures (KBS) are an innovative type of suture that can accelerate the placement of sutures and eliminate knot tying. Whether the KBS are safe and efficient in total joint arthroplasty (TJA) remains controversial. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate its efficacy and safety.
methodsRandomized-controlled trials (RCTs) were identified from the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases up to October 2017. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess methodological quality. The statistical analysis was performed with RevMan 5.3.5 software.
resultsA total of five RCTs (600 participants) were included in our meta-analysis. The results showed that KBS reduced wound suture time (MD - 4.51, 95% CI - 5.37 to - 3.66, P < 0.00001) and the wound suture cost (MD - 282.63, 95% CI - 445.32 to - 119.95, P < 0.00001), and did not significantly increase the rate of complications (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.42-1.39, P = 0.13) or intraoperative events (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.04-17.28, P = 0.92). There were no significant differences in ROM at postoperative 6 weeks and 3 months (MD - 0.74, 95% CI - 4.19 to 2.71, P = 0.67; MD - 0.30, 95% CI - 2.62 to 2.02, P = 0.80; respectively).
conclusionOur findings suggest that KBS are a safe and effective method for TJA. Given the possible biases, adequately powered and better designed studies with longer follow-up are required to reach a firmer conclusion.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.