Comparative analysis of four commercially available suture removal kits.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2023

Publication Title

The American journal of emergency medicine

Abstract

Presentation to the Emergency Department (ED) for laceration repair is common, accounting for approximately 8.2% of visits. There are many alternatives for clinicians regarding wound closure, including both absorbable and nonabsorbable sutures. While shown to be relatively clinically equivalent, many times patients treated with a nonabsorbable material are instructed to return to a clinic to have them removed. It has previously been shown, however, that many patients in the ED are willing and capable of removing their own nonabsorbable sutures at home if a suture removal (SR) kit was available. Despite the growing number of SR kits on the consumer market, there has not been a systematic evaluation to determine the cost, reliability, and degree of user-friendliness among the products. This study aims to evaluate the available SR kits on the market using non-medical adult volunteers.

We conducted a prospective randomized cohort study to compare four commercially available SR kits (labeled A-D). Sixty adult non-medical volunteers were given suture pads with four simple interrupted nylon sutures and asked to remove the sutures using each of the SR kits. Each kit evaluated was individually packaged and included disposable scissors, forceps, and a gauze sponge. The order of the SR kits used was randomized for each participant. Failure to successfully remove the sutures within two minutes or causing any trauma to the skin model was logged as a failure. Suture removal was timed and satisfaction with each SR kit was measured using 5-point Likert scales. At the end of the simulation, participants were asked to rank the SR kits on the degree of user-friendliness and quality of the instruments. Chi-squared and t -tests were used to compare key variables. Our institutional review board approved the study.

Volume

71

First Page

237

Last Page

239

ISSN

1532-8171

PubMed ID

37336671

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