A randomized controlled trial of abdominal binders for the management of postoperative pain and distress after cesarean delivery

Abstract Objective To determine whether abdominal binders effectively control pain and distress after cesarean delivery. Methods A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted between April and November, 2014, among women undergoing cesarean delivery (low-transverse skin incision) at two US hospitals. Participants were randomly allocated to either the abdominal binder or control groups on entry to the operating suite. Masking was not possible. Patients in the abdominal binder group were fitted with a device before leaving the operating room and were encouraged to wear it constantly, although breaks were allowed. The primary outcomes were postoperative distress (measured by the Symptom Distress Scale [SDS]) and pain (measured by a visual analog scale [VAS]). Individuals who asked to be removed from the study within 6 hours of surgery were excluded from analyses. Results Analyses included 87 patients in the abdominal binder group and 68 in the control group. The abdominal binder and control groups did not differ in postoperative day 1 VAS (3.1 ± 2.1 vs 3.4 ± 2.3; P = 0.33), postoperative day 2 VAS (3.0 ± 1.9 vs 3.8 ± 2.2; P = 0.16), postoperative day 1 SDS (21.5 ± 5.4 vs 21.8 ± 5.1; P = 0.87), and postoperative day 2 SDS (19.4 ± 4.8 vs 19.9 ± 5.0; P = 0.53). Conclusion Postoperative pain and distress scores after cesarean delivery were not affected by abdominal binders. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02129894