An RCT of triclosan coated sutures in primary hip and knee replacement

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  A randomised controlled trial of Polyglactin 910 Triclosan coated sutures versus standard Polyglactin 910 sutures in patients aged 18 or over undergoing primary unilateral hip and knee arthroplasties in the Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics at University College London Hospital

• IRAS ID

  67960

• Contact name

  Fares Sami Haddad

• Contact email

  Fares.haddad@ucl.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Joint UCLH/UCL Biomedical Research Unit

• Research summary

  Although safer than ever, infections after hip and knee replacements remain a challenging problem. Managing such infections often requires a long course of treatment and can lead to unhappy patients with poor function of the joint. We are always looking for ways to prevent infection, as it has been proven that prevention, rather than treatment, provides the best outcome for our patients.

  The purpose of this study is to find out whether sutures (stitches) coated with an antiseptic agent called triclosan are able to reduce infections within a surgical wound, in people having total hip and total knee replacements. Triclosan is not a new drug and has been used for more than 30 years in toothpaste, cosmetics and antiseptic soaps. Triclosan-coated sutures have been successfully used to reduce infections after heart surgery, abdominal surgery and neurosurgery with evidence in the literature supporting its use. However, despite its current use in Orthopaedics with similar assumptions of benefit, there is no evidence currently in the literature supporting such benefits in Orthopaedics.

  We therefore propose the hypothesis that triclosan coated sutures may be associated with better wound healing characteristics and fewer infections than ordinary sutures, and as a result may potentially be more appropriate for total hip and total knee arthroplasty wound closures.

• REC name

  London - Harrow Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  13/LO/0435

• Date of REC Opinion

  3 Jun 2013

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion