A comparison of the use of plain catgut, skin tapes and polyglactin sutures for skin closure: a prospective clinical trial.

A prospective clinical trial was carried out to compare the effect, on wound healing, of the use of polyglactin, plain catgut sutures, or skin tapes, in the closure of 190 groin crease incisions in children. The final outcome variable analysed was uneventful healing, defined as the absence of wound erythema, induration, discharge, raw areas, stitch sinuses or extrusions, or spreading or thickening of the scar, at four successive observation periods, up to 11 months post-operatively. Wounds closed with polyglactin exhibited a significant advantage over either of the two other methods in the early postoperative period (P = < 0.5). This association diminished over subsequent observation periods. Skin tapes were cheapest and quickest to use, but gave rise to a high incidence of wound problems, particularly early separation of the skin edges. Patient age (P = < 0.01 to < 0.05) and sex (P < 0.01) also exercised an effect on wound outcome, particularly at the final observation point. The reason for this was not determined. The results of this trial favour the use of polyglactin sutures over plain catgut and skin tapes in the closure of groin crease incisions in the population studied.