A Study on the Outcome of Antibiotic Eluting Intramedullary Interlocking Nails in the Primary Fixation of Gustilo and Anderson Grades II and IIIA Open Fractures of Tibia

INTRODUCTION: The incidence and outcome of infection in open tibial fractures is adequately recorded in literature. The aim of this study is to find out the deep infection rate, union rate, and functional outcome of open tibial fractures managed by prophylactic antibiotic eluting interlocking nail. METHODOLOGY: A total of 18 patients with 20 open tibial fractures who met the study criteria were included and followed up for a minimum of 1 year after surgical intervention. Reamed intramedullary interlocking nailing with antibiotic eluting nail was done followed by adequate skin cover. RESULTS: The outcomes were assessed using lower extremity functional scale and radiological union scale in tibial fractures both of which showed maximum improvement in initial 3 months followed by a steady improvement till 1 year with a good degree of correlation between the two scales. The total incidence of deep infection in this study was 5% (n = 1). All cases achieved union and independent ambulation by 1 year. CONCLUSION: Our study shows good radiological and functional outcomes with prophylactic antibiotic-coated nailing of open tibial fractures of Grades II and IIIA. The rate of deep infection is 5% and union rate is 100% in our study. Further comparative studies are required for drawing more conclusions on application of the results in clinical practice.