Secondary outcome measures
No trials included analysis of patient QOL or body image. The most
commonly reported secondary outcomes were closure time (5) and cost (5).
Other reported outcomes included pain on removal and wound inflammation.
Adverse events were reported in 56 patients; most commonly wound
dehiscence and wound infection (50 patients). Oswal noted a significant
reduction in wound complications in staples compared to sutures
(p=0.044) but noted significantly lower pain on removal scores in
sutures (p=<0.05). Six trials noted a significantly longer
wound closure time between sutures vs adhesives or staples. The
secondary outcome measures are demonstrated in table 4 .