Antimicrobial sutures can prevent surgical infections, study says

A new study analysis shows that antimicrobial sutures can be effective for preventing surgical site infections and can be cost effective.

Antimicrobial suture technology coats the antiseptic triclosan onto synthetic, absorbable, polymeric sutures. The broad-spectrum antiseptic fights against typical surgical pathogens like Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

The safe amount of triclosan that can be placed on the sutures and still be optimal for reducing surgical site infections is a maximum of 2360 µg/m in polydioxanone and coated poliglecaprone sutures, and 472 µg/m in coated polyglactin sutures, according to the research, published in the British Journal of Surgery. The lead author was Dr. David Leaper, a medical sciences professor at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Other study authors included an expert at Johnson & Johnson, which makes antimicrobial sutures through its Ethicon subsidiary.

One study analysis showed that in 21 clinical trials, 138 surgical sites out of 1,000 procedures were at risk for a surgical site infection. If the sutures were coated in triclosan, however, the risk of an SSI was reduced by 39.

Economically, 34 studies showed that triclosan sutures averaged $112.58 in savings compared to non-antimicrobial-coated sutures.

The World Health Organization recently recommended triclosan-coated sutures for preventing SSIs in the new “Global Guidelines for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infections.”

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