342
Views
32
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Article

Metallic or absorbable implants for ankle fractures:A comparative study of infections in 3,111 cases

, , , , , , & show all
Pages 16-18 | Received 01 Oct 1995, Accepted 04 Oct 1995, Published online: 08 Jul 2009
 

Abstract

Absorbable fracture fixation has been in clinical use since 1984. Our study compares the infection rates and some infection parameters between metallic (2073 patients) and absorbable fracture fixation devices (1012 patients) in displaced ankle fractures.

The infection rate associated with metallic fixation was 4.1%, compared with 3.2% absorbable fixation (p 0.3). The patients who had a wound infection were older when metallic fixation was used (p 0.01). They also had a bi- or trimalleolar fracture more often than did patients treated with absorbable fracture fixation, but this difference did not have a significant effect on the wound infection rate (p 0.2).

The infections were mostly caused by microorganisms of the Staphylococcus species. Deep infections were equally common with both fixation methods (0.4%), but there was some variation in the bacterial spectrum.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.