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Purpose: Fracture-Related Infection (FRI) is associated with high medical costs and prolonged healthcare utilization. However, limited data is available on the financial impact. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of FRI on direct hospital costs and healthcare utilization., Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study in a level-1 trauma centre in the Netherlands. Patients ≥ 18 years, after open reduction and internal fixation of a long bone fracture between January 1st 2016 and November 1st 2021, were included. Exclusion criteria were Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 16, indefinable data on costs or incomplete follow-up. Hospital costs related to fracture treatment were individually calculated based on procedure codes raised with a fixed percentage of overhead expenses, in line with hospital billing policies., Results: In total, 246 patients were included with a median follow-up of 1 year (IQR 0.6-1.8). A total of 45 patients developed FRI, of whom 15 patients had an FRI recurrence. Compared to non-FRI patients, median hospital costs from an FRI patient without and with recurrence, were respectively three (3.1) and seven (7.6) times higher. Compared to non-FRI patients, increased costs in patients with FRI or recurrent FRI are due to respectively a fivefold or even tenfold prolonged length-of-stay, two or seven additional infection-related surgeries, and 21 or 55 days of intravenous antibiotic treatment., Conclusion: Direct healthcare costs of patients with single occurrence of FRI after long bone fracture treatment are three times higher compared to non-FRI patients. In case of FRI-recurrence, the differences in costs might even increase to sevenfold. To put this in perspective, cost of severely injured trauma patients were recently established at approximately 25.000 euros. Compared to non-FRI patients, increased costs in patients with FRI or recurrent FRI are due to respectively a fivefold or even tenfold prolonged length-of-stay, two or seven additional infection-related surgeries and 21 or 55 days of intravenous antibiotic treatment. Not only from patient perspective but also from a financial aspect, it is important to focus on prevention of (recurrent) FRI., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: By gaining insight into the Quality of Life (QoL) status and occurrence of complications, critical facets in the care for patients with Fracture-Related Infection (FRI) can be mitigated and measures can be taken to improve their outcome. Therefore, the aims of this study were to 1) determine the QoL in FRI patients in comparison to non-FRI patients and 2) describe the occurrence of other complications in both FRI and non-FRI patients., Methods: An ambidirectional cohort study was conducted in a level 1 trauma centre between January 1st 2016 and November 1st 2021. All patients who underwent surgical stabilisation of an isolated long bone fracture were eligible for inclusion. To avoid confounding, only patients with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) <16 were included. Data regarding patient demographics, fracture characteristics, treatment, follow-up and complications were collected of both non-FRI and FRI patients. QoL was assessed through the use of five-level EuroQol five-dimension (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaires twelve months post-injury., Results: A total of 134 patients were included in this study, of whom 38 (28%) FRI patients and 96 (72%) non-FRI patients. In comparison to non-FRI patients, FRI patients scored significantly worse on the QoL assessment regarding the index value (p = 0.012) and the domains mobility (p<0.001), usual activities (p = 0.010) and pain/discomfort (p = 0.009). Other postoperative complications were more often reported (p<0.001) in FRI patients (66%, n = 25/38) compared to non-FRI patients (27%, n = 26/96). During the median follow-up of 14.5 months (interquartile range (IQR) 9.5-26.5), 25 FRI patients developed a total of 49 distinctive complications besides FRI. The complications nonunion (18%, n = 9/49), infection other than FRI (e.g. line infection, urinary tract infection, pneumonia) (18%, n = 9/49) and implant failure (14%, n = 7/49) were the most frequently described in the FRI group., Conclusion: Patients who suffered from an FRI have a decreased QoL in comparison to those without an FRI. Moreover, patients with an FRI have a higher rate of additional complications. These findings can help in patient counselling regarding the potential physical and mental consequences of having a complicated course of recovery due to an infection., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the outcomes of this study. The authors declare that they did not receive funding for this study., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Early Fracture-Related Infections (FRIs) are a common entity in hospitals treating trauma patients and are often treated with a Debridement, Antibiotics and Implant Retention (DAIR) procedure. Aims of this study were to 1) evaluate the recurrence rate after DAIR procedures for early onset FRI, 2) establish the number of surgical procedures to gain control of the initial infection and 3) identify independent predictors for recurrence in this cohort., Methods: A retrospective multicentre cohort study was conducted in two level 1 trauma centres. Consecutive patients who underwent a DAIR procedure between January 1st 2015 and July 1st 2020 for confirmed FRI with an onset of <6 weeks after the latest osseous operation were included. Recorded data included patient demographics, treatment characteristics and follow-up. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to assess predictors for recurrent FRI., Results: A total of 141 patients with early FRI were included in this study with a median age of 54.0 years (interquartile range (IQR) 34.5-64.0). The recurrence rate of FRI was 13% (n = 19) at one year follow-up and 18% (n = 25) at 23.1 months (IQR 15.3-36.4) follow-up. Infection control was achieved in 94% (n = 127/135) of cases. In total, 73 patients (52%) underwent at least two surgical procedures to treat the ongoing initial episode of FRI, of whom 54 patients (74%) required two to three procedures and 17 patients (23%) four to five procedures. Predictors for recurrent FRI were use of an intramedullary nail during index operation (odds ratio (OR) 4.0 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-13.8)), need for additional surgical procedures to treat ongoing infection during the treatment period following the first presentation of early FRI (OR 1.9 (95% CI 1.1-3.5)) and a decreased Injury Severity Score (ISS) (inverted OR 1.1 (95% CI 1.0-1.1))., Conclusion: The recurrence rate after treatment of early onset FRI in patients treated with a DAIR procedure was 18% at 23.1 months follow-up. At least two surgical procedures to gain control of the initial infection were needed in 52% of patients. Independent predictors for recurrent FRI were the use of an intramedullary nail during index operation, need for additional surgical procedures and a decreased ISS., Competing Interests: Declarations of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. The authors declare that they did not receive funding for this study., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

This international, multi-center study evaluated the effect of antibiotic-loaded carriers (ALCs) on outcome in patients with a fracture-related infection (FRI) and evaluated whether bacterial resistance to the implanted antibiotics influences their efficacy. All patients who were retrospectively diagnosed with FRI according to the FRI consensus definition, between January 2015 and December 2019, and who underwent surgical treatment for FRI at any time point after injury, were considered for inclusion. Patients were followed-up for at least 12 months. The primary outcome was the recurrence rate of FRI at follow-up. Inverse probability for treatment weighting (IPTW) modeling and multivariable regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between the application of ALCs and recurrence rate of FRI at 12 months and 24 months. Overall, 429 patients with 433 FRIs were included. A total of 251 (58.0%) cases were treated with ALCs. Gentamicin was the most frequently used antibiotic (247/251). Recurrence of infection after surgery occurred in 25/251 (10%) patients who received ALCs and in 34/182 (18.7%) patients who did not (unadjusted hazard ratio (uHR): 0.48, 95% CI: [0.29-0.81]). Resistance of cultured microorganisms to the implanted antibiotic was not associated with a higher risk of recurrence of FRI (uHR: 0.75, 95% CI: [0.32-1.74]). The application of ALCs in treatment of FRI is likely to reduce the risk of recurrence of infection. The high antibiotic concentrations of ALCs eradicate most pathogens regardless of susceptibility test results., Competing Interests: One author (M.A.M.) has received or will receive benefits for personal or professional use from a commercial party related indirectly to the subject of this article. All other authors declare no conflict of interest with respect to the preparation and writing of this article.

Purpose: Fracture-related infection (FRI) is an important complication related to orthopaedic trauma. Although the scientific interest with respect to the diagnosis and treatment of FRI is increasing, data on the microbiological epidemiology remains limited. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to evaluate the microbiological epidemiology related to FRI, including the association with clinical symptoms and antimicrobial susceptibility data. The secondary aim was to analyze whether there was a relationship between the time to onset of infection and the microbiological etiology of FRI., Methods: FRI patients treated at the University Hospitals of Leuven, Belgium, between January 1st 2015 and November 24th 2019 were evaluated retrospectively. The microbiological etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility data were analyzed. Patients were classified as having an early (<2 weeks after implantation), delayed (2-10 weeks) or late-onset (> 10 weeks) FRI., Results: One hundred ninety-one patients with 194 FRIs, most frequently involving the tibia (23.7%) and femur (18.6%), were included. Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently isolated pathogen, regardless of time to onset (n=61; 31.4%), followed by S. epidermidis (n=50; 25.8%) and non- epidermidis coagulase-negative staphylococci (n=35; 18.0%). Polymicrobial infections (n=49; 25.3%), mainly involving Gram negative bacilli (GNB) (n=32; 65.3%), were less common than monomicrobial infections (n=138; 71.1%). Virulent pathogens in monomicrobial FRIs were more likely to cause pus or purulent discharge (n=45;54.9%; p=0.002) and fistulas (n=21;25.6%; p=0.030). Susceptibility to piperacillin/tazobactam for GNB was 75.9%. Vancomycin covered 100% of Gram positive cocci., Conclusion: This study revealed that in early FRIs, polymicrobial infections and infections including Enterobacterales and enterococcal species were more frequent. A time-based FRI classification is not meaningful to estimate the microbiological epidemiology and cannot be used to guide empiric antibiotic therapy. Large multicenter prospective studies are necessary to gain more insight into the added value of (broad) empirical antibiotic therapy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Depypere, Sliepen, Onsea, Debaveye, Govaert, IJpma, Zimmerli and Metsemakers.)

Background: The recently developed fracture-related infection (FRI) consensus definition, which is based on specific diagnostic criteria, has not been fully validated in clinical studies. We aimed to determine the diagnostic performance of the criteria of the FRI consensus definition and evaluated the effect of the combination of certain suggestive and confirmatory criteria on the diagnostic performance., Methods: A multicenter, multi-national, retrospective cohort study was performed. Patients were subdivided into an FRI or a control group, according to the treatment they received and the recommendations from a multidisciplinary team ('intention to treat'). Exclusion criteria were patients with an FRI diagnosed outside the study period, patients younger than 18 years of age, patients with pathological fractures or patients with fractures of the skull, cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. Minimum follow up for all patients was 18 months., Results: Overall, 637 patients underwent revision surgery for suspicion of FRI. Of these, 480 patients were diagnosed with FRI, treated accordingly, and included in the FRI group. The other 157 patients were included in the control group. The presence of at least one confirmatory sign was associated with a sensitivity of 97.5%, a specificity of 100% and a high discriminatory value (AUROC 0.99, p < 0.001). The presence of a clinical confirmatory criterion or, if not present, at least one positive culture was associated with the highest diagnostic performance (sensitivity: 98.6%, specificity: 100%, AUROC: 0.99 (p < 0.001)). In the subgroup of patients without clinical confirmatory signs at presentation, specificities of at least 95% were found for the clinical suggestive signs of fever, wound drainage, local warmth and redness., Conclusions: The presence of at least one confirmatory criterion identifies the vast majority of patients with an FRI and was associated with an excellent diagnostic discriminatory value. Therefore, our study validates the confirmatory criteria of the FRI consensus definition. Infection is highly likely in case of the presence of a single positive culture with a virulent pathogen. When certain clinical suggestive signs (e.g., wound drainage) are observed (individually or in combination and even without a confirmatory criterion), it is more likely than not, that an infection is present., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest All authors declare no conflict of interest with respect to the preparation and writing of this article., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Purpose: White blood cell (WBC) scintigraphy is considered the gold-standard nuclear imaging technique for diagnosing fracture-related infection (FRI). Correct interpretation of WBC scans in FRI is important since a false positive or false negative diagnosis has major consequences for the patient in terms of clinical decision-making. The European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) guideline for correct analysis and interpretation of WBC scans recommends semiquantitative analysis of visually equivocal scans. Therefore, this study aims to assess the diagnostic accuracy of semiquantitative analysis of visually equivocal WBC scans for diagnosing FRI., Methods: A retrospective single-center study was performed in consecutive patients who received WBC scintigraphy in the diagnostic work-up for FRI between February 2012 and January 2017. All the visually equivocal scans were analysed using semiquantitative analysis by comparing leukocyte uptake in the manually selected suspected infection focus with the contralateral bone marrow (L/R ratio). Cut-off points for a 'positive' scan result of >0%, >10% and >20% leukocyte increase between the early and late scans were used in separate analyses. The discriminative ability was quantified by calculating the sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy., Results: In total, 153 WBC scans were eligible for inclusion. After visual assessment of all the scans, 28 visually equivocal scans were included. Dichotomization of the ratios using the cut-off of >0% resulted in a sensitivity of 30%, a specificity of 45% and a diagnostic accuracy of 40%. The >10% cut-off point resulted in a sensitivity of 18%, a specificity of 82% and a diagnostic accuracy of 66%. The >20% cut-off point resulted in a sensitivity of 0%, a specificity of 89% and a diagnostic accuracy of 67%., Conclusion: Semiquantitative analysis of visually equivocal WBC scans is insufficient for correctly diagnosing FRI.

Introduction: Fracture-related infection (FRI) is a severe musculoskeletal complication in orthopedic trauma surgery, causing challenges in bony and soft tissue management. Currently, negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is often used as temporary coverage for traumatic and surgical wounds, also in cases of FRI. However, controversy exists about the impact of NPWT on the outcome in FRI, specifically on infection recurrence. Therefore, this systematic review qualitatively assesses the literature on the role of NPWT in the management of FRI., Methods: A literature search of the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science database was performed. Studies that reported on infection recurrence related to FRI management combined with NPWT were eligible for inclusion. Quality assessment was done using the PRISMA statement and the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale., Results: After screening and quality assessment of 775 unique identified records, eight articles could be included for qualitative synthesis. All eight studies reported on infection recurrence, which ranged from 2.8% to 34.9%. Six studies described wound healing time, varying from two to seven weeks. Four studies took repeated microbial swabs during subsequent vacuum dressing changes. One study reported newly detected pathogens in 23% of the included patients, and three studies did not find new pathogens., Conclusion: This review provides an assessment of current literature on the role of NPWT in the management of soft tissue defects in patients with FRI. Due to the lack of uniformity in included studies, conclusions should be drawn with caution. Currently, there is no clear scientific evidence to support the use of NPWT as definitive treatment in FRI. At this stage, we can only recommend early soft tissue coverage (within days) with a local or free flap. NPWT may be safe for a few days as temporarily soft tissue coverage until definitive soft tissue management could be performed. However, comparative studies between NPWT and early wound closure in FRI patients are needed., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Susan Haidari et al.)

Background: Fracture-related infection (FRI) remains one of the most challenging complications in orthopaedic trauma surgery. An early diagnosis is of paramount importance to guide treatment. The primary aim of this study was to compare the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria for the diagnosis of organ/space surgical site infection (SSI) to the recently developed diagnostic criteria of the FRI consensus definition in operatively treated fracture patients., Methods: This international multicenter retrospective cohort study evaluated 257 patients with 261 infections after operative fracture treatment. All patients included in this study were considered to have an FRI and treated accordingly ('intention to treat'). The minimum follow-up was one year. Infections were scored according to the CDC criteria for organ/space SSI and the diagnostic criteria of the FRI consensus definition., Results: Overall, 130 (49.8%) FRIs were captured when applying the CDC criteria for organ/space SSI, whereas 258 (98.9%) FRIs were captured when applying the FRI consensus criteria. Patients could not be classified as having an infection according to the CDC criteria mainly due to a lack of symptoms within 90 days after the surgical procedure (n = 96; 36.8%) and due to the fact that the surgery was performed at an anatomical localization not listed in the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) operative procedure code mapping (n = 37; 14.2%)., Conclusion: This study confirms the importance of standardization with respect to the diagnosis of FRI. The results endorse the recently developed FRI consensus definition. When applying these diagnostic criteria, 98.9% of the infections that occured after operative fracture treatment could be captured. The CDC criteria for organ/space SSI captured less than half of the patients with an FRI requiring treatment, and seemed to have less diagnostic value in this patient population., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest All authors declare no conflict of interest with respect to the preparation and writing of this article., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Proximal humeral fractures affect 1.5-3% of all childhood fractures. Usually, these fractures can be treated conservatively depending on age and fracture displacement. The proximal growth plate has a great potential for remodeling. The aim of this article is to clarify which degree of displacement can be accepted in case of non-operative treatment. A 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy presented at the ER after falling from a pony and a climbing frame, respectively. Both had a severely displaced proximal humeral fracture with 80-90 degrees angulation of the humeral head relative to the shaft. Both patients were treated conservatively and follow-up x-rays of the shoulder showed complete remodeling of the humeral head with full functional recovery of the shoulder. Due to the remodeling capacity the proximal humerus, severely displaced fractures in children can be treated nonoperatively in most cases. Unnecessary surgical interventions should be avoided.

Purpose: Missed injuries are reported in 1.3-65% of all admitted trauma patients. The severely injured patient that needs a higher level of care which requires an inter-hospital transfer has an increased risk for missed injuries. The aim of this study was to establish the incidence and clinical relevance of missed injuries in severely injured patients who require inter-hospital transfer to a level 1 trauma center., Methods: All patients with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 16 transferred to the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) between January 2010 and July 2015 were included. Data were obtained from a prospective trauma database and supplemented with information from the patient records. A delayed diagnosis was defined as any injury detected within the first 24 h after the initial trauma, with or without a tertiary survey. Missed diagnoses were defined as any injury diagnosed after 24 h following trauma., Results: Two hundred and fifty-one trauma patients were included. A total of 88 patients (35%) were found to have ≥ 1 new diagnoses with 65 (26%) patients that had 1 or more delayed diagnoses and 23 (9.2%) patients had 1 or more missed diagnoses (detected > 24 h after injury) after transfer to our hospital. For 47 of the 88 patients (53%), the new diagnoses required a change of management. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was the only statistically significant risk factor for a new diagnosis upon transfer., Conclusions: Inter-hospital transfer of severely injured patients increases the risk of a delayed detection of injuries. We found that 35% of all transferred patients with an ISS ≥ 16 have at least new diagnoses, with over half of these diagnoses requiring a change of management. Given these findings, clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion when receiving a transferred severely injured trauma patient.

Fracture-related infection (FRI) remains a challenging complication that creates a heavy burden for orthopaedic trauma patients, their families and treating physicians, as well as for healthcare systems. Standardization of the diagnosis of FRI has been poor, which made the undertaking and comparison of studies difficult. Recently, a consensus definition based on diagnostic criteria for FRI was published. As a well-established diagnosis is the first step in the treatment process of FRI, such a definition should not only improve the quality of published reports but also daily clinical practice. The FRI consensus group recently developed guidelines to standardize treatment pathways and outcome measures. At the center of these recommendations was the implementation of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach. If such a team is not available, it is recommended to refer complex cases to specialized centers where a MDT is available and physicians are experienced with the treatment of FRI. This should lead to appropriate use of antimicrobials and standardization of surgical strategies. Furthermore, an MDT could play an important role in host optimization. Overall two main surgical concepts are considered, based on the fact that fracture fixation devices primarily target fracture consolidation and can be removed after healing, in contrast to periprosthetic joint infection were the implant is permanent. The first concept consists of implant retention and the second consists of implant removal (healed fracture) or implant exchange (unhealed fracture). In both cases, deep tissue sampling for microbiological examination is mandatory. Key aspects of the surgical management of FRI are a thorough debridement, irrigation with normal saline, fracture stability, dead space management and adequate soft tissue coverage. The use of local antimicrobials needs to be strongly considered. In case of FRI, empiric broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy should be started after tissue sampling. Thereafter, this needs to be adapted according to culture results as soon as possible. Finally, a minimum follow-up of 12 months after cessation of therapy is recommended. Standardized patient outcome measures purely focusing on FRI are currently not available but the patient-reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS) seems to be the preferred tool to assess the patients' short and long-term outcome. This review summarizes the current general principles which should be considered during the whole treatment process of patients with FRI based on recommendations from the FRI Consensus Group.Level of evidence: Level V.

Introduction: In 1999 an inclusive trauma system was initiated in the Netherlands and a nationwide trauma registry, including all admitted trauma patients to every hospital, was started. The Dutch trauma system is run by trauma surgeons who treat both the truncal (visceral) and extremity injuries (fractures)., Materials and Methods: In this comprehensive review based on previous published studies, data over the past 20 years from the central region of the Netherlands (Utrecht) was evaluated., Results: It is demonstrated that the initiation of the trauma systems and the governance by the trauma surgeons led to a region-wide mortality reduction of 50% and a mortality reduction for the most severely injured of 75% in the level 1 trauma centre. Furthermore, major improvements were found in terms of efficiency, demonstrating the quality of the current system and its constructs such as the type of surgeon. Due to the major reduction in mortality over the past few years, the emphasis of trauma care evaluation shifts towards functional outcome of severely injured patients. For the upcoming years, centralisation of severely injured patients should also aim at the balance between skills in primary resuscitation and surgical stabilization versus longitudinal surgical involvement., Conclusion: Further centralisation to a limited number of level 1 trauma centres in the Netherlands is necessary to consolidate experience and knowledge for the trauma surgeon. The future trauma surgeon, as specialist for injured patients, should be able to provide the vast majority of trauma care in this system. For the remaining part, intramural, regional and national collaboration is essential.

On the day of scheduled debridement for a persistent pin tract infection, a 23-year old man presented himself carrying a small bony ring sequestrum that had spontaneously ejected from his tibial wound 1 week earlier. Eight years prior to presentation, he was treated for an open crural fracture which was stabilised with an external fixator. Revision of the operation notes revealed that the placement of this external fixator was performed without predrilling., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2020. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

This prospective study compared bifocal acute shortening and relengthening (ASR) with bone transport (BT) in a consecutive series of complex tibial infected non-unions and osteomyelitis, for the reconstruction of segmental defects created at the surgical resection of the infection. Patients with an infected tibial segmental defect (>2 cm) were eligible for inclusion. Patients were allocated to ASR or BT, using a standardized protocol, depending on defect size, the condition of soft tissues and the state of the fibula (intact or divided). We recorded the Weber-Cech classification, previous operations, external fixation time, external fixation index (EFI), follow-up duration, time to union, ASAMI bone and functional scores and complications. A total of 47 patients (ASR: 20 patients, BT: 27 patients) with a median follow-up of 37.9 months (range 16-128) were included. In the ASR group, the mean bone defect size measured 4.0 cm, and the mean frame time was 8.8 months. In the BT group, the mean bone defect size measured 5.9cm, and the mean frame time was 10.3 months. There was no statistically significant difference in the EFI between ASR and BT (2.0 and 1.8 months/cm, respectively) ( p = 0.223). A total of 3/20 patients of the ASR and 15/27 of the BT group needed further unplanned surgery during Ilizarov treatment ( p = 0.006). Docking site surgery was significantly more frequent in BT; 66.7%, versus ASL; 5.0% ( p < 0.0001). The infection eradication rate was 100% in both groups at final follow-up. Final ASAMI functional rating scores and bone scores were similar in both groups. Segmental resection with the Ilizarov method is effective and safe for reconstruction of infected tibial defects, allowing the eradication of infection and high union rates. However, BT demonstrated a higher rate of unplanned surgeries, especially docking site revisions. Acute shortening and relengthening does not reduce the fixator index. Both techniques deliver good functional outcome after completion of treatment.

Fracture-related infection (FRI) is a severe complication after bone injury and can pose a serious diagnostic challenge. Overall, there is a limited amount of scientific evidence regarding diagnostic criteria for FRI. For this reason, the AO Foundation and the European Bone and Joint Infection Society proposed a consensus definition for FRI to standardize the diagnostic criteria and improve the quality of patient care and applicability of future studies regarding this condition. The aim of this article was to summarize the available evidence and provide recommendations for the diagnosis of FRI. For this purpose, the FRI consensus definition will be discussed together with a proposal for an update based on the available evidence relating to the diagnostic value of clinical parameters, serum inflammatory markers, imaging modalities, tissue and sonication fluid sampling, molecular biology techniques, and histopathological examination. Second, recommendations on microbiology specimen sampling and laboratory operating procedures relevant to FRI will be provided. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:: Diagnostic Level V. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Introduction: Fracture-related infection (FRI) is an important complication following surgical fracture management. Key to successful treatment is an accurate diagnosis. To this end, microbiological identification remains the gold standard. Although a structured approach towards sampling specimens for microbiology seems logical, there is no consensus on a culture protocol for FRI. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of a structured microbiology sampling protocol for fracture-related infections compared to ad-hoc culture sampling., Methods: We conducted a pre-/post-implementation cohort study that compared the effects of implementation of a structured FRI sampling protocol. The protocol included strict criteria for sampling and interpretation of tissue cultures for microbiology. All intraoperative samples from suspected or confirmed FRI were compared for culture results. Adherence to the protocol was described for the post-implementation cohort., Results: In total 101 patients were included, 49 pre-implementation and 52 post-implementation. From these patients 175 intraoperative culture sets were obtained, 96 and 79 pre- and post-implementation respectively. Cultures from the pre-implementation cohort showed significantly more antibiotic use during culture sampling (P =  0.002). The post-implementation cohort showed a tendency more positive culture sets (69% vs. 63%), with a significant difference in open wounds (86% vs. 67%, P =  0.034). In all post-implementation culture sets causative pathogens were cultured more than once per set, in contrast to pre-implementation. Despite stricter tissue sampling and culture interpretation criteria, the number of polymicrobial infections was similar in both cohorts, approximately 29% of all culture sets and 44% of all positive culture sets. Significantly more polymicrobial cultures were found in early infections in the post-implementation cohort (P =  0.048). This indicates a better yield in the new protocol., Conclusion: A standardised protocol for intraoperative sampling for bacterial identification in FRI is superior than an ad-hoc approach. It has a positive effect on both surgeon and microbiologist by increasing awareness about the problem at hand. This resulted in more microbiologically confirmed infections and more certainty when identifying causative pathogens., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Purpose: Rib fixation for flail chest has been shown to improve in-hospital outcome, but little is known about treatment for multiple rib fractures and long-term outcome is scarce. The aim of this study was to describe the safety, long-term quality of life, and implant-related irritation after rib fixation for flail chest and multiple rib fractures., Methods: All adult patients with blunt thoracic trauma who underwent rib fixation for flail chest or multiple rib fractures between January 2010 and December 2016 in our level 1 trauma facility were retrospectively included. In-hospital characteristics and implant removal were obtained via medical records and long-term quality of life was assessed over the telephone., Results: Of the 864 patients admitted with ≥ 3 rib fractures, 166 (19%) underwent rib fixation; 66 flail chest patients and 99 multiple rib fracture patients with an ISS of 24 (IQR 18-34) and 21 (IQR 16-29), respectively. Overall, the most common complication was pneumonia (n = 58, 35%). Six (9%) patients with a flail chest and three (3%) with multiple rib fractures died, only one because of injuries related to the thorax. On average at 3.9 years, follow-up was obtained from 103 patients (62%); 40 with flail chest and 63 with multiple rib fractures reported an EQ-5D index of 0.85 (IQR 0.62-1) and 0.79 (0.62-0.91), respectively. Forty-eight (48%) patients had implant-related irritation and nine (9%) had implant removal., Conclusions: We show that rib fixation is a safe procedure and that patients reported a relative good quality of life. Patients should be counseled that after rib fixation approximately half of the patients will experience implant-related irritation and about one in ten patients requires implant material removal.

Background: The standardized approach with triple diagnostics (surgical exploration with visual inspection, microbiological and histological examination) has been proposed as the golden standard for early diagnosis of severe necrotizing soft tissue disease (SNSTD, or necrotizing fasciitis) in ambivalent cases. This study's primary aim was to evaluate the protocolized approach after implementation for diagnosing (early) SNSTD and relate this to clinical outcome., Methods: A cohort study analyzing a 5-year period was performed. All patients undergoing surgical exploration (with triple diagnostics) for suspected SNSTD since implementation were prospectively identified. Demographics, laboratory results and clinical outcomes were collected and analyzed., Result: Thirty-six patients underwent surgical exploration with eight (22%) negative explorations. The overall 30-day mortality rate was 25%, with an early, SNSTD-related mortality rate of 11% (n = 3). Of these, one patient (4%) underwent primary amputation, but died during surgery. No significant differences between baseline characteristics were found between patients diagnosed with SNSTD in early/indistinctive or late/obvious stage. Patient diagnosed at an early stage had a significantly shorter ICU stay (2 vs. 6 days, p = 0.031). Mortality did not differ between groups; patients who died were all ASA IV patients., Conclusion: Diagnosing SNSTD using the approach with triple diagnostics resulted in a low mortality rate and only a single amputation in a pre-terminal patient in the first 5 years after implementation. All deceased patients had multiple preexisting comorbidities consisting of severe systemic diseases, such as end-stage heart failure. Early detection proved to facilitate faster recovery with shorter ICU stay.

Fracture-related infection (FRI) is a serious complication after fracture care and can lead to severe morbidity with loss of quality of life, a significant increase in medical expenses and loss of participation in work and social life. Early recognition, adequate surgical debridement, deep uncontaminated tissue cultures with (if indicated) soft tissue reconstruction and fracture stabilization followed by antibiotic therapy are the cornerstones of the successful management of FRI. Recently, in 2018, the AO/EBJIS consensus definition for FRI was published and both national and international working groups are being assembled and provide guidelines and tools for the care of patients with FRI. This paper is a synopsis of the Dutch guideline on FRI (2018), illustrated by a clinical case, and is aiming to provide an overview of the current knowledge on diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

Purpose: 18 F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ( 18 F-FDG PET/CT) is frequently used to diagnose fracture-related infections (FRIs), but its diagnostic performance in this field is still unknown. The aims of this study were: (1) to assess the diagnostic performance of qualitative assessment of 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans in diagnosing FRI, (2) to establish the diagnostic performance of standardized uptake values (SUVs) extracted from 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans and to determine their associated optimal cut-off values, and (3) to identify variables that predict a false-positive (FP) or false-negative (FN) 18 F-FDG PET/CT result., Methods: This retrospective cohort study included all patients with suspected FRI undergoing 18 F-FDG PET/CT between 2011 and 2017 in two level-1 trauma centres. Two nuclear medicine physicians independently reassessed all 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans. The reference standard consisted of the result of at least two deep, representative microbiological cultures or the presence/absence of clinical confirmatory signs of FRI (AO/EBJIS consensus definition) during a follow-up of at least 6 months. Diagnostic performance in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) was calculated. Additionally, SUVs were measured on 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans. Volumes of interest were drawn around the suspected and corresponding contralateral areas to obtain absolute values and ratios between suspected and contralateral areas. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was also performed to identify the most important predictor(s) of FP or FN 18 F-FDG PET/CT results., Results: The study included 156 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans in 135 patients. Qualitative assessment of 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans showed a sensitivity of 0.89, specificity of 0.80, PPV of 0.74, NPV of 0.91 and diagnostic accuracy of 0.83. SUVs on their own resulted in lower diagnostic performance, but combining them with qualitative assessments yielded an AUC of 0.89 compared to an AUC of 0.84 when considering only the qualitative assessment results (p = 0.007). 18 F-FDG PET/CT performed <1 month after surgery was found to be the independent variable with the highest predictive value for a false test result, with an absolute risk of 46% (95% CI 27-66%), compared with 7% (95% CI 4-12%) in patients with 18 F-FDG PET/CT performed 1-6 months after surgery., Conclusion: Qualitative assessment of 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans had a diagnostic accuracy of 0.83 and an excellent NPV of 0.91 in diagnosing FRI. Adding SUV measurements to qualitative assessment provided additional accuracy in comparison to qualitative assessment alone. An interval between surgery and 18 F-FDG PET/CT of <1 month was associated with a sharp increase in false test results.

Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis., Objectives: To determine the efficacy of intrawound treatments in reducing deep surgical site infections (SSIs) in instrumented spinal surgery., Methods: The electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane were systematically searched for intrawound treatments for the prevention of SSIs in clean instrumented spine surgery. Both randomized controlled trials and comparative cohort studies were included. The results of included studies were pooled for meta-analysis., Results: After full text- and reference screening, 20 articles were included. There were 2 randomized controlled trials and 18 observational studies. Sixteen studies investigated the use of intrawound antibiotics, and 4 studies investigated the use of intrawound antiseptics. The relative risk of deep SSI for any treatment was 0.26 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.16-0.44, P < .0001), a significant reduction compared with controls receiving no treatment. For patients treated with local antibiotics the relative risk was 0.29 (95% CI 0.17-0.51, P < .0001), and patients treated with local antiseptics had a relative risk of 0.14 (95% CI 0.05-0.44, P = .0006)., Conclusions: Both the use of antibiotic and antiseptic intrawound prophylactics was associated with a significant 3 to 7 times reduction of deep SSIs in instrumented spine surgery. No adverse events were reported in the included studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Introduction: Brodie's abscess is a form of osteomyelitis. Since its first appearance in the medical literature in 1832, numerous cases have been described. The aim of this article is to provide the first comprehensive overview of published cases of Brodie's abscess, and to describe diagnostic methods, therapeutic consequences and outcomes. Methods: According to PRISMA guidelines a systematic review of the literature was performed. All published data in English or Dutch were considered for inclusion with no limitations on publication date. Data was extracted on demography, duration of symptoms, signs of inflammation, diagnostic imaging, causative agent, treatment and follow-up. Results: A total of 70 articles were included, reporting on a total of 407 patients, mostly young (median age 17) males (male:female ratio 2.1:1). The median duration of symptoms before diagnosis was 12 weeks (SD 26). Mostly consisting of pain (98%) and/or swelling (53%). 84% of all patients were afebrile, and less than 50% had elevated serum inflammation markers. Diagnosis was made with a combination of imaging modalities: plain X-ray in 96%, MRI (16%) and CT-scan (8%). Treatment consisted of surgery in 94% of the cases, in conjunction with long term antibiotics in 77%. Staphylococcus aureus was the pathogen most often found in the culture (67,3%). Outcome was generally reported as favorable. Recurrence was reported in 15,6% of the cases requiring further intervention. Two cases developed permanent disability. Conclusion: Brodie's abscess has an insidious onset as systemic inflammatory signs and symptoms were often not found. Treatment consisted mostly of surgery followed by antibiotics (77%) or only surgery (17%) and outcomes were generally reported as favourable., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Introduction: There is continuous drive to optimize healthcare for the most severely injured patients. Although still under debate, a possible measure is to provide 24/7 in-house (IH) coverage by trauma surgeons. The aim of this study was to compare process-related outcomes for severely injured patients before and after transition of attendance policy from an out-of-hospital (OH) on-call attending trauma surgeon to an in-house attending trauma surgeon., Methods: Retrospective before-and-after study using prospectively gathered data in a Level 1 Trauma Center in the Netherlands. All trauma patients with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) >24 presenting to the emergency department for trauma before (2011-2012) and after (2014-2016) introduction of IH attendings were included. Primary outcome measures were the process-related outcomes Emergency Department length of stay (ED-LOS) and time to first intervention., Results: After implementation of IH trauma surgeons, ED-LOS decreased (p =  0.009). Time from the ED to the intensive care unit (ICU) for patients directly transferred to the ICU was significantly shorter with more than doubling of the percentage of patients that reached the ICU within an hour. The percentage of patients undergoing emergency surgery within 30 min nearly doubled as well, with a larger amount of patients undergoing CT imaging before emergency surgery., Conclusions: Introduction of a 24/7 in-house attending trauma surgeon led to improved process-related outcomes for the most severely injured patients. There is clear benefit of continuous presence of physicians with sufficient experience in trauma care in hospitals treating large numbers of severely injured patients., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Intramedullary fixation (IMF) has been described as a minimally invasive alternative to open reduction and internal fixation for operative treatment of distal fibular fractures in case of compromised soft tissue or severe comorbidities. The objective was to compare postoperative complications and functional outcomes of intramedullary versus plate fixation (PF) in distal fibular fractures. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. The PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, and CINAHL databases were searched for both randomized controlled trials and observational studies. A total of 26 studies was included, reporting on 1710 patients with a mean age of 51.6 years. Meta-analysis was performed on 8 comparative studies, including subgroup and sensitivity analyses on all outcomes. IMF was associated with significantly fewer wound related complications (odds ratio [OR], 0.11; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.04 to 0.25; p < .01), implant removals (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.31 to 0.93; p = .03), and nonunions (OR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.62; p < .01). No differences were found regarding malunion (OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.17 to 1.21; p = .11) and the Olerud Molander Ankle Score for long-term functional outcome (mean difference, 9.56; 95% CI, 1.24 to 20.37; p = .08). Results of this study apply to a select group of patients, in which the advantages of minimal soft tissue damage by IMF are preferable to optimal fracture reduction by PF. IMF of distal fibular fractures resulted in fewer wound-related complications, implant removals, and nonunions compared with PF. Especially in elderly patients, patients with chronic comorbidity, and patients with compromised soft tissue, IMF may be preferred over PF., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Aims: To assess the diagnostic value of C-reactive protein (CRP), leucocyte count (LC), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in late fracture-related infection (FRI)., Materials and Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched focusing on the diagnostic value of CRP, LC, and ESR in late FRI. Sensitivity and specificity combinations were extracted for each marker. Average estimates were obtained using bivariate mixed effects models., Results: A total of 8284 articles were identified but only six were suitable for inclusion. Sensitivity of CRP ranged from 60.0% to 100.0% and specificity from 34.3% to 85.7% in all publications considered. Five articles were pooled for meta-analysis, showing a sensitivity and specificity of 77.0% and 67.9%, respectively. For LC, this was 22.9% to 72.6%, and 73.5% to 85.7%, respectively, in five articles. Four articles were pooled for meta-analysis, resulting in a 51.7% sensitivity and 67.1% specificity. For ESR, sensitivity and specificity ranged from 37.1% to 100.0% and 59.0% to 85.0%, respectively, in five articles. Three articles were pooled in meta-analysis, showing a 45.1% sensitivity and 79.3% specificity. Four articles analyzed the value of combined inflammatory markers, reporting an increased diagnostic accuracy. These results could not be pooled due to heterogeneity., Conclusion: The serum inflammatory markers CRP, LC, and ESR are insufficiently accurate to diagnose late FRI, but they may be used as a suggestive sign in its diagnosis.

Introduction : Diagnosing Fracture-Related Infections (FRI) based on clinical symptoms alone can be challenging and additional diagnostic tools such as serum inflammatory markers are often utilized. The aims of this study were 1) to determine the individual diagnostic performance of three commonly used serum inflammatory markers: C-Reactive Protein (CRP), Leukocyte Count (LC) and Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR), and 2) to determine the diagnostic performance of a combination of these markers, and the additional value of including clinical parameters predictive of FRI. Methods : This cohort study included patients who presented with a suspected FRI at two participating level I academic trauma centers between February 1 st 2009 and December 31 st 2017. The parameters CRP, LC and ESR, determined at diagnostic work-up of the suspected FRI, were retrieved from hospital records. The gold standard for diagnosing or ruling out FRI was defined as: positive microbiology results of surgically obtained tissue samples, or absence of FRI at a clinical follow-up of at least six months. The diagnostic accuracy of the individual serum inflammatory markers was assessed. Analyses were done with both dichotomized values using hospital thresholds as well as with continuous values. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to obtain the discriminative performance (Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic, AUROC) of (1) the combined inflammatory markers, and (2) the added value of these markers to clinical parameters. Results : A total of 168 patients met the inclusion criteria and were included for analysis. CRP had a 38% sensitivity, 34% specificity, 42% positive predictive value (PPV) and 78% negative predictive value (NPV). For LC this was 39%, 74%, 46% and 67% and for ESR 62%, 64%, 45% and 76% respectively. The diagnostic accuracy was 52%, 61% and 80% respectively. The AUROC was 0.64 for CRP, 0.60 for LC and 0.58 for ESR. The AUROC of the combined inflammatory markers was 0.63. Serum inflammatory markers combined with clinical parameters resulted in AUROC of 0.66 as opposed to 0.62 for clinical parameters alone. Conclusion: The added value of CRP, LC and ESR for diagnosing FRI is limited. Clinicians should be cautious when interpreting the results of these tests in patients with suspected FRI., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Introduction: White blood cell (WBC) scintigraphy for diagnosing fracture-related infections (FRIs) has only been investigated in small patient series. Aims of this study were (1) to establish the accuracy of WBC scintigraphy for diagnosing FRIs, and (2) to investigate whether the duration of the time interval between surgery and WBC scintigraphy influences its accuracy., Patients and Methods: 192 consecutive WBC scintigraphies with 99m Tc-HMPAO-labelled autologous leucocytes performed for suspected peripheral FRI were included. The golden standard was based on the outcome of microbiological investigation in case of surgery, or - when these were not available - on clinical follow-up of at least six months. The discriminative ability of the imaging modalities was quantified by several measures of diagnostic accuracy. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictive variables of a false-positive or false-negative WBC scintigraphy test result., Results: WBC scintigraphy had a sensitivity of 0.79, a specificity of 0.97, a positive predicting value of 0.91, a negative predicting value of 0.93 and a diagnostic accuracy of 0.92 for detecting an FRI in the peripheral skeleton. The duration of the interval between surgery and the WBC scintigraphy did not influence its diagnostic accuracy; neither did concomitant use of antibiotics or NSAIDs. There were 11 patients with a false-negative (FN) WBC scintigraphy, the majority of these patients (n = 9, 82%) suffered from an infected nonunion. Four patients had a false-positive (FP) WBC scintigraphy., Conclusions: WBC scintigraphy showed a high diagnostic accuracy (0.92) for detecting FRIs in the peripheral skeleton. Duration of the time interval between surgery for the initial injury and the WBC did not influence the results which indicate that WBC scintigraphy is accurate shortly after surgery., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Posttraumatic osteomyelitis (PTO) is a feared complication after surgical fracture care. Late diagnosis can result in interrupted and prolonged rehabilitation programmes, inability to work, medical dependency, unnecessary hospital admissions, and high medical and non-medical costs. Primary aim of this study was to assess preferred diagnostic imaging strategies for diagnosing PTO amongst orthopaedic and trauma surgeons, radiologists, and nuclear medicine physicians. Secondary aims were to determine the preferred serum inflammatory marker for diagnosing PTO and the existence of a local hospital protocol to diagnose and manage PTO., Materials and Methods: This study utilised an online survey based on four clinical scenarios, varying from early to late onset of PTO. It was designed to assess individual practitioners' current preferred diagnostic strategy for diagnosing PTO. Eligible study participants were medical specialists and registrars in orthopaedic and trauma surgery, musculoskeletal (MSK) radiology, and nuclear medicine., Results: There were 346 responders: 155 trauma surgeons, 102 orthopaedic surgeons, 57 nuclear medicine physicians, and 33 MSK radiologists. Trauma surgeons favour FDG-PET to image PTO, while orthopaedic surgeons prefer WBC scintigraphy. A similar difference was seen between radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians (MRI versus nuclear medicine imaging). CRP was regarded as the most useful serum inflammatory marker. Only one-third of all responders was aware of a local hospital protocol for the treatment of osteomyelitis., Conclusions: The availability of and awareness towards local protocols to diagnose and treat PTO is poor. The results of this study support the need for future randomised controlled trials on optimal diagnostic strategies for PTO.

Introduction: Early recognition of a possible infection and therefore a prompt and accurate diagnostic strategy is essential for a successful treatment of posttraumatic osteomyelitis (PTO). However, at this moment there is no single routine test available that can detect osteomyelitis beyond doubt and the performed diagnostic tests mostly depend on personal experience, available techniques and financial aspects. Nuclear medicine techniques focus on imaging pathophysiological changes which usually precede anatomical changes. Together with recent development in hybrid camera systems, leading to better spatial resolution and quantification possibilities, this provides new opportunities and possibilities for nuclear medicine modalities to play an important role in diagnosing PTO., Aim: In this overview paper the techniques and available literature results for PTO are discussed for the three most commonly used nuclear medicine techniques: the three phase bone scan (with SPECT-CT), white blood cell scintigraphy (also called leukocyte scan) with SPECT-CT and (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET/CT. Emphasis is on how these techniques are able to answer the diagnostic questions from the clinicians (trauma and orthopaedic surgeons) and which technique should be used to answer a specific question. Furthermore, three illustrative cases from clinical practice are described.