ReviewCureus2025
Revisiting Jenkins' Rule: Evidence-Based Insights on the Suture-to-Wound Length Ratio and Wound Dehiscence.
Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Wound dehiscence is a serious postoperative complication, with fascial closure technique and suture-length to wound-length (SL:WL) ratio being key determinants of wound integrity. Jenkins' rule, recommending a 4:1 SL:WL ratio, has long guided midline laparotomy closure. Recent evidence suggests that optimal ratios should be tailored to the surgical context, patient factors, and suture material. High-tension closures, such as emergency laparotomies in obese patients, benefit from higher ratios of 5:1-6:1, while elective or low-tension procedures, including laparoscopic port-site closures, may achieve secure outcomes with ratios of 3.5:1-4:1. Modern suture materials, including monofilament, delayed-absorbable, and barbed sutures are combined with fine-bite or short-stitch techniques, enhance fascial approximation, reduce tissue trauma, and allow flexible ratio application. This systematic review of five studies with a combined sample size of 1,431 patients confirms that Jenkins' 4:1 rule remains a reliable baseline. However, SL:WL ratios should be adapted to wound tension, surgical setting, and patient characteristics. Tailoring suture length to these factors can optimize fascial closure, minimize wound dehiscence, and improve postoperative outcomes, providing a modern, evidence-based refinement of Jenkins' foundational principle.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.