Surgical Site Infection After Open Upper Extremity Fracture and the Effect of Urgent Operative Intervention

Objectives: To identify which factors are predictive of surgical site infection in upper extremity fractures, and to assess whether the timing of operative debridement influences infection risk. Design: Retrospective database review. Setting: Hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database. Patients: Patients in the NSQIP database with fractures involving the upper extremity. Intervention: Surgical management of upper extremity fracture, including operative debridement for open injuries. Main Outcome Measurements: Surgical site infection, including both superficial and deep infections. Results: A total of 22,578 patients were identified, including 1298 patients with open injuries (5.7% of total). The overall wound infection rate was 0.79%. Patients with open injuries were found to have a higher incidence of infection compared with those with closed injuries (1.7% vs. 0.7%, P 2 (all P
Source: Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma - Category: Orthopaedics Tags: Original Article Source Type: research