Abstract
Open fractures occur most commonly in men aged more than 50 years, which may result in lifetime costs for patients and healthcare systems. In the past 5 years, high-quality evidence for direct treatment of these fractures has increased. The expedient administration of intravenous antibiotics continues to be one of the most predictive factors of infection prevention. Open fractures are complicated injuries to classify owing to multiple factors that will be reviewed in the current study: severity of fracture and soft-tissue injury, thoroughness of debridement, time to initial treatment, modality of antibiotic delivery, and timing of definitive fracture fixation and soft-tissue coverage; all of which contribute to the incidence of infection and nonunion. Appropriate evidence-based treatment can decrease morbidity of patients with open fractures.
Recommended Citation
Telis, Alex. "Open Fractures: A Review." UNM Orthopaedic Research Journal 7, 1 (2018). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/unm_jor/vol7/iss1/17
