A comparison of the use of plain catgut, skin tapes and polyglactin sutures for skin closure: a propsective 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, four successive observation periods, up to 11 months post-operatively. Wounds closed with polyglactin (P=<0.5). This association diminished over subsequent observation periods. Skin tapes were cheapest 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 (AU)

Soft tissue infection in children in south Trinidad

A review of 391 children in the first decade of life admitted to surgical ward with soft tissue infections revealed predisposing factors in 34.8 per cent of cases, mainly trauma and adjacent skin sepsis. Superficial abscess formation occurred in 90 per cent of cases, muscle abscess in 9.4 per cent, and necrotizing fascitis in less than 1 per cent. The most frequent organism isolated was the staphylococcus aureus which was found in 52.8 per cent of the available cultures. Coliform organisms were found in 14.6 per cent, and haemplytic streptococci in just over 10 per cent. A study of the culture and sensitivity profiles obtained made it possible to formulate a programme for the empirical treatment of soft tissue infections based on the region of the body involved.