Tissue Adhesive versus Skin Suture plus Waterproof Wound Dressings for Carpal Tunnel Wound Closure: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The popular wound closure methods for carpal tunnel decompression (CTD) include non-absorbable and absorbable sutures which have comparable results in clinical outcomes. However, these wound closure methods are recommended to keep a wound dry which may limit some ADLs. We conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial that compares clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness in a skin closure following CTD between absorbable sutures plus a 2-octyl cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive (2OCA) versus non-absorbable skin sutures plus a waterproof dressing (NSPWD). Materials and Methods: We enrolled 120 patients undergoing CTD into two groups 2OCA and NSPWD, with 60 patients in each group. Number of dressing changes, Quick DASH, pain VAS, cosmetic VAS, patient satisfaction VAS, and Hollander wound evaluation score, cost-effectiveness, and post-operative complications were collected at pre-operative period and two and six weeks post-operatively. Results: Slightly better patient satisfaction VAS (7.9 vs 7.2, p=0.018) and cosmetic VAS (8.0 vs 7.2, p=0.025) were observed in 2OCA at 2 weeks. Meanwhile, NSPWD revealed lesser times of dressing change (Median, mode, IQR 0/0/0 vs 2/3/2, p<0.001). The total wound-related costs include dressing change and suture removal cost ($15.9 for 2OCA vs $19.2 for NSPWD, p=0.002) although an initial wound-related cost in 2OCA was higher ($15.7/case vs $7.9/case, p<0.001). Conclusion: Our study revealed that the supplementary tissue adhesive to absorbable sutures following CTD could reduce total wound-related costs while clinical outcomes might not be considered clinically significant.