Summary of findings for the main comparison. Absorbable versus non‐absorbable sutures for laparotomy incisions.
| Absorbable versus non‐absorbable sutures for laparotomy incisions | |||||
| Patient or population: patients undergoing a laparotomy Setting: community and hospital‐based, outpatient and inpatient, worldwide Intervention: absorbable sutures for abdominal closure Comparison: non‐absorbable sutures for abdominal closure | |||||
| Outcomes | Anticipated absolute effects* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | № of participants (studies) | Quality of the evidence (GRADE) | |
| Risk with non‐absorbable sutures | Risk with absorbable sutures | ||||
| Incisional hernia follow‐up: 1 year | Study population | RR 1.07 (0.86 to 1.32) | 4720 (17 RCTs) | ⊕⊕⊕⊝ Moderate1 | |
| 107 per 1000 | 115 per 1000 (92 to 141) | ||||
| Wound infection at last follow‐up | Study population | RR 0.99 (0.84 to 1.17) | 8457 (29 RCTs) | ⊕⊕⊕⊝ Moderate1 | |
| 107 per 1000 | 105 per 1000 (89 to 125) | ||||
| Wound dehiscence at last follow‐up | Study population | RR 0.78 (0.55 to 1.10) | 9004 (34 RCTs) | ⊕⊕⊕⊝ Moderate1 | |
| 33 per 1000 | 26 per 1000 (18 to 36) | ||||
| Sinus or fistula formation at last follow‐up | Study population | RR 0.49 (0.26 to 0.94) | 5470 (19 RCTs) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ Low1,2 | |
| 35 per 1000 | 17 per 1000 (9 to 33) | ||||
| *The risk in the intervention group (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: confidence interval; RCT: randomised controlled trial; RR: risk ratio | |||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High quality: we are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect Moderate quality: we are moderately confident in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different Low quality: our confidence in the effect estimate is limited: the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect Very low quality: we have very little confidence in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect | |||||
1Downgraded one level for serious risk of bias (includes at least one study with overall high risk of bias). 2Downgraded one level for inconsistency (I2 = 52% ).