Evidence-Based Recommendations for Local Antimicrobial Strategies and Dead Space Management in Fracture-Related Infection

Summary:Fracture-related infection (FRI) remains a challenging complication that imposes a heavy burden on orthopaedic trauma patients. The surgical management eradicates the local infectious focus and if necessary facilitates bone healing. Treatment success is associated with debridement of all dead and poorly vascularized tissue. However, debridement is often associated with the formation of a dead space, which provides an ideal environment for bacteria and is a potential site for recurrent infection. Dead space management is therefore of critical importance. For this reason, the use of locally delivered antimicrobials has gained attention not only for local antimicrobial activity but also for dead space management. Local antimicrobial therapy has been widely studied in periprosthetic joint infection, without addressing the specific problems of FRI. Furthermore, the literature presents a wide array of methods and guidelines with respect to the use of local antimicrobials. The present review describes the scientific evidence related to dead space management with a focus on the currently available local antimicrobial strategies in the management of FRI.Level of Evidence:Therapeutic Level V. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence

Fracture-related outcome study for operatively treated tibia shaft fractures (F.R.O.S.T.): registry rationale and design

Background: Tibial shaft fractures (TSFs) are among the most common long bone injuries often resulting from high-energy trauma. To date, musculoskeletal complications such as fracture-related infection (FRI) and compromised fracture healing following fracture fixation of these injuries are still prevalent. The relatively high complication rates prove that, despite advances in modern fracture care, the management of TSFs remains a challenge even in the hands of experienced surgeons. Therefore, the Fracture-Related Outcome Study for operatively treated Tibia shaft fractures (F.R.O.S.T.) aims at creating a registry that enables data mining to gather detailed information to support future clinical decision-making regarding the management of TSF’s. Methods: This prospective, international, multicenter, observational registry for TSFs was recently developed. Recruitment started in 2019 and is planned to take 36 months, seeking to enroll a minimum of 1000 patients. The study protocol does not influence the clinical decision-making procedure, implant choice, or surgical/imaging techniques; these are being performed as per local hospital standard of care. Data collected in this registry include injury specifics, treatment details, clinical outcomes (e.g., FRI), patient-reported outcomes, and procedure- or implant-related adverse events. The minimum follow up is 12 months. Discussion: Although over the past decades, multiple high-quality studies have addressed individual research questions related to the outcome of TSFs, knowledge gaps remain. The scarcity of data calls for an international high-quality, population-based registry. Creating such a database could optimize strategies intended to prevent severe musculoskeletal complications. The main purpose of the F.R.O.S.T registry is to evaluate the association between different treatment strategies and patient outcomes. It will address not only operative techniques and implant materials but also perioperative preventive measures. For the first time, data concerning systemic perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis, the influence of local antimicrobials, and timing of soft-tissue coverage will be collected at an international level and correlated with standardized outcome measures in a large prospective, multicenter, observational registry for global accessibility. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03598530

Musculoskeletal infection in orthopaedic trauma: Assessment of the 2018 international consensus meeting on musculoskeletal infection

Fracture-related infections (FRIs) are among the most common complications following fracture fixation, and they have a huge economic and functional impact on patients. Because consensus guidelines with respect to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of this major complication are scarce, delegates from different countries gathered in Philadelphia in July 2018 as part of the Second International Consensus Meeting (ICM) on Musculoskeletal Infection. This paper summarizes the discussion and recommendations from that consensus meeting, using the Delphi technique, with a focus on FRIs. A standardized definition that was based on diagnostic criteria was endorsed, which will hopefully improve reporting and research on FRIs in the future. Furthermore, this paper provides a grade of evidence (strong, moderate, limited, or consensus) for strategies and practices that prevent and treat infection. The grade of evidence is based on the quality of evidence as utilized by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The guidelines presented herein focus not only on the appropriate use of antibiotics, but also on practices for the timing of fracture fixation, soft-tissue coverage, and bone defect and hardware management. We hope that this summary as well as the full document by the International Consensus Group are utilized by those who are charged with musculoskeletal care internationally to optimize their management strategies for the prevention and treatment of FRIs. COPYRIGHT © 2020 BY THE JOURNAL OF BONE AND JOINT SURGERY, INCORPORATE