Relation between Level of Serum Transferrin and Postoperative Wound Drainage in Closed Long Bone Fractures

OBJECTIVE: To report association between the serum transferrin level and postoperative wound drainage in closed long bone fractures. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: There is an old association between the serum transferrin level and wound drainage leading to peri-implant infection. There is no literature available on the ideal treatment for wound drainage. In the majority of the cases, wound drainage usually stops in 3–5 days postoperatively. However, very few cases have been described in the literature about wound drainage following closed long bone fractures. METHODS: A prospective review of the patient's serum transferrin levels and postoperative wound drainage is done. RESULTS: We reviewed records of 100 patients in whom levels of serum transferrin were checked preoperatively and correlated with postoperative wound discharge. Out of the 100 patients whose serum transferrin levels were checked, 23 patients had low serum transferrin levels and 19 patients had postoperative wound discharge. Out of these 19 patients, 16 patients had low serum transferrin levels. Thus, sensitivity of the test was 84.2% and specificity was 91.3%. In addition, the positive predictive value was 70% and negative predictive value was 96%. CONCLUSION: We report that preoperative serum transferrin levels can be used as a good marker to judge postoperative wound drainage in closed long bone fractures.