Are drains required following a routine primary total joint arthroplasty?

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefits of suction drainage following primary total joint arthroplasty. We reviewed primary total hip and knee replacements separately and together in 126 consecutive patients. There were 63 patients each in the drainage and no drainage groups. Sex distribution and anticoagulant use were similar in the two groups. All patients underwent the same operative technique and method of closure. The mean postoperative fall in haemoglobin was 3.2 and 3.3 gm/dl in the drainage and no drainage groups respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups with regard to blood transfusion requirements, rehabilitation time, postoperative complications such as hypotension and wound infections (p>0.05). The average rehabilitation time in both groups was 8–9 days. The routine use of a suction drain is unnecessary after an uncomplicated total joint arthroplasty

Abdominally implanted satellite transmitters affect reproduction and survival rather than migration of large shorebirds

Satellite telemetry has become a common technique to investigate avian life-histories, but whether such tagging will affect fitness is a critical unknown. In this study, we evaluate multi-year effects of implanted transmitters on migratory timing and reproductive performance in shorebirds. Shorebirds increasingly are recognized as good models in ecology and evolution. That many of them are of conservation concern adds to the research responsibilities. In May 2009, we captured 56 female Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa limosa during late incubation in The Netherlands. Of these, 15 birds were equipped with 26-g satellite transmitters with a percutaneous antenna (7.8 % +/- 0.2 SD of body mass), surgically implanted in the coelom. We compared immediate nest survival, timing of migration, subsequent nest site fidelity and reproductive behaviour including egg laying with those of the remaining birds, a comparison group of 41 females. We found no effects on immediate nest survival. Fledging success and subsequent southward and northward migration patterns of the implanted birds conformed to the expectations, and arrival time on the breeding grounds in 2010-2012 did not differ from the comparison group. Compared with the comparison group, in the year after implantation, implanted birds were equally faithful to the nest site and showed equal territorial behaviour, but a paucity of behaviours indicating nests or clutches. In the 3 years after implantation, the yearly apparent survival of implanted birds was 16 % points lower. Despite intense searching, we found only three eggs of two implanted birds; all were deformed. A similarly deformed egg was reported in a similarly implanted Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus returning to breed in central Alaska. The presence in the body cavity of an object slightly smaller than a normal egg may thus lead to egg malformation and, likely, reduced egg viability. That the use of implanted satellite transmitters in these large shorebirds reduced nesting propensity and might also lead to fertility losses argues against the use of implanted transmitters for studies on breeding biology, and for a careful evaluation of the methodology in studies of migration