Drain use can be avoided in reverse shoulder arthroplasty.

Background: Drains have demonstrated no clear benefits and some potentially harmful effects in hip and knee replacements. There is little evidence about the effects of its use in shoulder arthroplasty. We hypothesized that drain use would increase postoperative blood loss without reducing wound complications.

Methods: We included 103 reverse shoulder arthroplasties (RSA), 71 were operated for degenerative pathology, 32 due to a fracture. All complications were recorded. Hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Htc.) level were collected and compared to postoperative data. Length of hospitalization and volume output were also noted.

Results: 45 patients received a closed-suction drain. Patients with coagulopathy had significant higher bleeding and were excluded (p = 0.03). Patients operated for a fracture were older (80.1y.o vs 72.1 p < 0.01) and had higher blood drop (∆Hb p = 0.01; ∆Htc p = 0.03). There were neither differences between drain and control group in ∆Hb or ∆Htc in the degenerative RSA group (1.84+/-0.89 vs 1.68+/-0.84, p = 0.36; 5.78+/-2.89 vs 5.53+/-2.87 p = 0.50) nor in the fracture RSA group (2.65+/-0.94 vs 2.65+/-1.01, p = 0.90; 7.91+/-2.99 vs. 7.09+/-4.21, p = 0.56). There were neither differences in complications (degenerative p = 0.33; fracture p = 0.21). Drain use was related to a longer hospital stay in elective surgery (2.6 vs 1.8 days; p < 0.01).

Discussion: The rate of complication is similar between patients with and without drain use. Drain use after shoulder arthroplasty does not affect postoperative bleeding but increases the length of hospital stay. Drains seems to be an unnecessary intervention after RSA that may increase associated costs and can be safely abandoned.

Level of evidence: Level III retrospective comparative study.