BACTERIAL CULTURES AND OUTCOME OF INTRAMEDULLARY INTERLOCKING NAIL IN OPEN DIAPHYSEAL FRACTURES OF TIBIAL

Abstract

Background: The tibial shaft is one of the most common open long bone fractures; treatment improperly can lead to many serious complications and frequently cause permanent sequelae. Infection is one of the most common and disastrous complications of an open fracture. Therefore, determining the role of qualitative bacterial cultures in implementing the most effective antibiotics for opening tibial fractures and managing promptly and with precision is extremely important to avoid these complications and restore the patient's rehabilitation. Due to the paucity of articles exclusively dealing with this topic, we conducted a study to determine bacterial cultures and the functional outcome of intramedullary interlocking nailing in these patients. Objectives: This study assessed Bacterial cultures and the outcome of intramedullary interlocking nails in open diaphyseal fractures of the tibial. Materials and Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 32 patients with open diaphyseal fractures of tibial who were initially treated with thorough wound debridement and lavage, followed by surgical treatment with intramedullary interlocking nails. The qualitative method of antibiotic disc diffusion in agar (Kirby Bauer) is often applied to determine the susceptibility of bacteria to different antibiotics. All 32 patients were followed up, which was conducted using clinical criteria, and a radiographic was assessed using the RUST score. Results: In our study, the injury surgery interval was 14.54±6.304 hours. Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epiderdimis were common bacteria in open tibial fractures. The mean union time was 15.43±3.726 weeks, which was assessed by RUST score and clinical criteria. The functional outcome with Ketenjian and Shelton Criteria was excellent results in 28 (87.5%) cases and good outcomes in 4 (12.5%) cases. Conclusion: Using the intramedullary interlocking nail in open diaphyseal fractures of the tibial is an excellent procedure that leads to good results with reduced hospital stay, good range of motion, and low infection rate, leading to better union.