Study on the relationship between the timing of conversion from external fixation to internal fixation and infection in the treatment of open fractures of extremities

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between the infection rate and the timing of replacement of temporary external fixators with internal fixation, and the timing of immediate or delayed internal fixation after removal of temporary external fixation in the staging treatment modality of open fractures of extremities. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 122 cases of open fractures of extremities. External fixators were applied at the early stage and replaced with internal fixation when the condition of soft tissues improved and inflammatory indexes dropped to the normal range or showed a steady downward trend. Depending on the carrying time of external fixators after wound closure or healing, the patients were divided into three groups; the carrying time of groups A, B, and C was ≤ 14 days, 15–28 days, and > 28 days, respectively. Depending on the immediate or delayed internal fixation after removal of external fixator, patients were divided into group a (immediate internal fixation after removal of external fixator) and group b (delayed internal fixation after removal of external fixator, 5–7 days later). RESULTS: The infection rates of groups A, B, and C were 6.5%, 5.9%, and 23.3%, respectively. The differences among the three groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The infection rates of different Gustilo–Anderson fractures were as follows: no cases of infection out of 10 cases with type I fracture (0%); two cases of infection out of 35 cases with type II fracture (5.7%); three cases of infection out of 36 cases with IIIa fracture (8.3%); five cases of infection out of 28 cases with IIIB fracture (17.9%); and five cases of infection out of 13 cases with IIIC fracture (38.5%). The differences among the five groups were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of infection of open fractures of extremities is associated with the fracture severity (Gustilo classification). For open fractures of Gustilo types I and II, the final internal fixation should be placed as soon as possible when the recovery of general and local conditions is good and the infection is controlled.