Plus Sutures for preventing surgical site infection

1.1 Evidence supports the case for adopting Plus Sutures as part of a bundle of care for preventing surgical site infection in the NHS for people who need wound closure after a surgical procedure when absorbable sutures are an appropriate option.

1.2 Cost modelling shows that Plus Sutures is cost saving compared with non-triclosan absorbable sutures by an average of £13.62 per patient. These savings are from reduced surgical site infections. Cost savings will vary by surgery type and baseline risk of surgical site infection. For more information on the cost impact to the NHS please see the NICE resource impact summary report.

Why the committee made these recommendations

Plus Sutures is a range of synthetic, absorbable sutures with triclosan (Irgacare MP), a purified medical grade antimicrobial.

Clinical evidence shows that using Plus Sutures instead of standard absorbable sutures reduces the chance of a surgical site infection.

Even though Plus Sutures is more expensive than standard sutures, cost analyses show that it still leads to cost savings because of the reduction in surgical site infections.