Experimental efficacy study of coated VICRYL plus antibacterial suture in guinea pigs challenged with Staphylococcus aureus.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the ability of coated polyglactin 910 suture with triclosan (Coated VICRYL Plus Antibacterial) suture to inhibit the colonization of bacteria on the suture after direct in vivo inoculation challenge with Staphylococcus aureus utilizing a guinea pig model.
METHODS: One control suture (4-5 cm) and one test suture (4-5 cm) were implanted subcutaneously in the dorsal-lateral regions (control on the left side, test on the right side, approximately 5 cm apart) in 16 female Hartley guinea pigs (300-400 g) via a 20-gauge catheter. Each implantation site was challenged directly with 2.1 x 10(4) colony forming units (cfu) of Staphylococcus aureus through the indwelling catheter. The test material was coated polyglactin 910 suture with triclosan (2-0, dyed), and the control material was coated polyglactin 910 suture (2-0, undyed). At 48 h, suture articles were explanted and a bacterial enumeration assay was performed.
RESULTS: There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the number of bacteria recovered between the study groups at 48 h post-implantation. The mean recovery for test sutures was 559 cfu, and the mean recovery for control sutures was 16,831 cfu. Coated polyglactin 910 suture with triclosan provided a 30.5-fold (96.7%) reduction in the number of recovered bacteria compared to standard coated polyglactin 910 suture.
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that coated polyglactin 910 suture with triclosan inhibits bacterial colonization of suture after direct in vivo challenge with S. aureus in a guinea pig model.