Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary Ethicon touted updated anti-infection suture guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommend that healthcare professionals “consider the use of triclosan-coated sutures for the prevention of SSI [surgical site infection].”

Ethicon Plus Sutures are the only globally available sutures coated with triclosan that stop bacteria commonly associated with SSIs from colonizing the suture, according to the company. The updated guidelines were published last week in JAMA Surgery. 

“Triclosan-coated sutures should be considered as part of an institution’s comprehensive evidence-based approach to reducing the risk of SSIs,” Charles Edmiston, paid Ethicoon consultant and emeritus professor of surgery, said in prepared remarks. “Ethicon Plus Sutures play an important role in reducing hospital-acquired infections, and with health care costs increasingly rising, it’s now more important than ever to address the risk factors associated with SSIs.”

Ethicon’s triclosan-coated sutures have been shown to inhibit bacterial colonization for 7 days or more. The product also slows bacterial growth in the area surrounding the suture, the company reported.

“Ethicon, with a 60-year legacy of innovation in surgical sutures, fully supports the CDC’s updated guideline, which demonstrates their commitment to improving the quality of patient care and will ultimately help save many lives,” Ethicon’s franchise medical director Liza Ovington said.

SSIs are the most common healthcare-associated infections in the U.S., according to Ethicon, and occur in up to 3% of all hospitalized patients.