Abstract
A prospective randomized study was performed to evaluate the role of cold therapy in the postoperative treatment of total hip arthroplasty (THA). Forty consecutive patients underwent primary total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis. All components were not cemented. The patients were randomized: 20 were fitted with a cold therapy device for four days, and 20 were not. They were evaluated in terms of blood loss, creatine phosphokinase (CPK) level, C-reactive protein (CRP) level, and pain relief. No significant difference was found in the amount of postoperative wound drainage between the two groups of patients. The use of cold compressive dressing after THA was not associated with an increase in CPK and CRP level.
The pain score in the postoperative period of THA was significantly lower in the cold therapy group than in the control group. The results of this study support the potential benefit in pain reduction by use of the cold compressive device in the postoperative recovery of patients undergoing THA.
The abstracts were prepared by Nico Verdonschot. Correspondence should be addressed to him at Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, University Medical Centre, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
