Aims. Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common complication of surgery
with an incidence of about 1% in the United Kingdom. Sutures can
lead to the development of a SSI, as micro-organisms can colonize
the suture as it is implanted. Triclosan-coated sutures, being antimicrobical,
were developed to reduce the rate of SSI. Our aim was to assess
whether triclosan-coated sutures cause a reduction in SSIs following
arthroplasty of the hip and knee. Patients and Methods. This two-arm, parallel, double-blinded study involved 2546 patients
undergoing elective total hip (THA) and total knee arthroplasty
(TKA) at three hospitals. A total of 1323 were quasi-randomized
to a standard suture group, and 1223 being quasi-randomized to the
triclosan-coated suture group. The primary endpoint was the rate
of SSI at 30 days postoperatively. Results. The baseline characteristics of age, gender and comorbidities
were well matched in the two groups. The rates of superficial SSI
were 0.8% in the control group and 0.7% in the intervention group
(p = 0.651), and when deep and superficial SSIs were combined the
rates were 2.5% and 1.8 (p = 0.266). The length of stay in hospital
and the rates of medical complications did not differ significantly
between the groups (p = 1.000). Conclusion. This trial provided no evidence that the use of triclosan-coated
sutures at THA and TKA leads to a reduction in the rate of SSI. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2018;100-B:296–302