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The effect of a hydrogen peroxide wound care regimen on tensile strength of suture
Raghu S Athre1, Jesung Park, Joseph L Leach
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX 75230, USA. raghu@athre.com
Objective:
To compare the tensile strength of nylon, polypropylene, and fast-absorbing gut sutures treated with either 3% hydrogen peroxide or water for a period of 5 days to emulate a wound care regimen.
Methods:
An In-Spec 2200 bench-top tester was used to find the maximum load that a particular suture could sustain prior to breaking.
Results:
Analysis of the data showed a statistically significant decrease in tensile strength of fast-absorbing gut sutures treated with hydrogen peroxide compared with fast-absorbing gut suture control samples and fast-absorbing gut sutures treated with only water.
Conclusion:
Though no in vivo studies were performed, a logical extension of these results would be that premature degradation of fast-absorbing gut sutures secondary to use of hydrogen peroxide might lead to widened and/or hypertrophic scars.
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