An investigation on therapeutic measures and optimal opportunity for treating POI following internal fixation of fracture

Objective To explore the therapeutic measures and optimal opportunity for treating postoperative infection(POI) following internal fixation of fracture so as to improve the therapeutic effects.Methods A systematic review was conducted on the 62 patients,admitted between April 2004 and October 2010,with POI following internal fixation of fracture(infection course exceeded 3 months,and the original fixation manners were not altered).For the original fixation manners,34 cases were treated with medullary pins,15 with steel plates,and the other 13 with hybrid fixation.All the fractures were healed or preliminarily healed.In addition to removal of internal implants,thorough debridement and pulsed irrigation,the patients also received lavage with a double-valve lateral-hole lavage tube that novelly invented by us.Results During 1 to 3 years postoperative following-up,the wounds of 62 patients were all primarily healed,without joint dysfunction and recurrent infection.Conclusion If infection is under control,the original internal implants can be retained,until fracture is healed.A reasonably postponed anti-infection could significantly reduce the duration of therapeutic course and the risks of various complications,such as joint dysfunctions and etc.