my $price = '23,356.00';
  my $itemref = 'S10099';   

  print "price = $price\n";

  $price =~ s/,//;

  print "new price = $price\n";

  my $query = "UPDATE items SET price='$price' WHERE itemref='$itemref';";

   print $query;

   $sth = $dbh->prepare ( $query );
   $sth->execute ();
   $sth->finish ();