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Review
. 2022 Nov 7:14:383-391.
doi: 10.2147/ORR.S384845. eCollection 2022.

Current Concept Review: Risk Factors for Infection Following Open Fractures

Jeffrey Coombs  1   2 , Damien Billow  1 , Cesar Cereijo  1 , Brendan Patterson  1 , Stephen Pinney  1
Affiliations
Review

Current Concept Review: Risk Factors for Infection Following Open Fractures

Jeffrey Coombs et al. Orthop Res Rev. .

Abstract

Infection following open fracture is a significant source of morbidity and mortality. Therefore, a central tenet of treatment is to minimize the risk of infection. The initial risk of infection is determined by wound characteristics, such as size, soft tissue coverage, vascular injury, and contamination. While no consensus exists on optimal antibiotic regimen, early administration of prophylactic antibiotics, within an hour of injury, when possible, has been shown definitively to decrease the risk of infection. Infection risk is further reduced by early irrigation with normal saline and aggressive debridement of devitalized tissue. Patient factors that increase risk of infection following open fracture include diabetes mellitus, smoking, male gender, and lower extremity fracture.

Keywords: antibiotic prophylaxis; infection; open fracture; trauma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

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