An Updated Evidence About the Role of Timing to Debridement on Infection Rate of Open Tibial Fractures: A Meta-Analysis

Background and objectives Recent experimental and clinical evidence supporting early debridement for open fractures has been questioned. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize and evaluate the current evidence regarding the timing of surgical debridement of open tibial fractures. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted on studies compared the infection rate following early versus late debridement of open tibial fractures. We performed an online, bibliographic, search through the period from January 2000 to June 2020 in five bibliographic databases: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Medline via PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCO host. Results Nine retrospective studies and six prospective studies were included in the present meta-analysis study. The pooled effect estimate showed no statistically significant difference between early and late debridement regarding the overall infection rate (RD 0.02, 95% CI [0 - 0.04], p = 0.94); there was no significant heterogeneity in the pooled estimate (I2 = 5%). The subgroup analysis showed that the non-significant difference was consistent regardless of the definition of early and late timing to debridement. Likewise, the pooled effect estimate showed no statistically significant difference between early and late debridement regarding the deep infection rate (RD 0.01, 95% CI [-0.01 - 0.03], p = 0.92); there was no significant heterogeneity in the pooled estimate (I2 = 0%). The pooled effect estimate showed no statistically significant difference between early and late debridement regarding the nonunion rate as well. The funnel lots showed little evidence of asymmetry by visual inspection. Conclusion In conclusion, the current evidence demonstrates no impact of timing to surgical debridement on the infection rate following open tibial fractures in the adult population. Our results demonstrated that the risks of infection, deep infection, and nonunion were similar between patients who underwent delayed versus early debridement.