Table 1.
Comparison of different knot tying techniques by run time, knot strength and knot-spread ability.
| 95 % Confidence Interval | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Contrast | Ratioa means | Lower | Upper | p-valueb | |
| Time (sec) | Intracorporeal: Extracorporeal, open | 1.33 (386.6:279.5) | 1.244 | 1.429 | <0.001 | |
| Intracorporeal: Extracorporeal, closed | 1.361 (386.6:255.7) | 1.27 | 1.458 | <0.001 | ||
| Extracorporeal, open: Extracorporeal, closed | 1.02 (279.5:255.7) | 0.953 | 1.093 | 0.563 | ||
| Knot strength (mm) | Intracorporeal: Extracorporeal, open | 0.827 (3.80:4.92) | 0.688 | 0.994 | 0.043 | |
| Intracorporeal: Extracorporeal, closed | 0.966 (3.80:4.96) | 0.805 | 1.159 | 0.709 | ||
| Extracorporeal, open: Extracorporeal, closed | 1.168 (4.92:4.96) | 0.975 | 1.4 | 0.092 | ||
| Knot-spread ability (mm) | Intracorporeal: Extracorporeal, open | 1.328 (11.72:10.46) | 0.782 | 1.875 | <0.001 | |
| Intracorporeal: Extracorporeal, closed | 1.519 (11.77:10.26) | 0.976 | 2.063 | <0.001 | ||
| Extracorporeal, open: Extracorporeal, closed | 0.191 (10.46:10.26) | −0.347 | 0.729 | 0.486 | ||
| Mistakes | Intracorporeal: Extracorporeal, open | 2.294 (0.36:0.28) | 1.261 | 4.17 | 0.007 | |
| Intracorporeal: Extracorporeal, closed | 2.453 (0.36:0.22) | 1.353 | 4.447 | 0.003 | ||
| Extracorporeal, open: Extracorporeal, closed | 1.07 (0.28:0.22) | 0.578 | 1.981 | 0.831 | ||
a
For ‘Time’ and ‘Knot strength’, ratios correspond to geometric mean ratios. For ‘Knot-spread ability, ratios correspond to differences of means. For ‘Mistakes’, ratios correspond to odds ratios. The geometric mean ratio approximately corresponds to the median ratio.
b
The p-values were calculated using a mixed-effects model. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant.