Treatment of acute infection.

Abstract

Military injuries are classically thought of as being limited to penetrating trauma caused by gunshot and blast injuries. However, blunt trauma caused by motor vehicle crashes and crush injuries can produce severe open injuries in the extremities. Most military injuries involve a higher level of energy than is commonly seen in civilian injuries, and the environment can be austere. These factors contribute to the development of infections that appear shortly after musculoskeletal trauma. Thus, the orthopaedic surgeon must know how to treat anaerobic soft-tissue infection, including clostridial fasciitis, clostridial myonecrosis, and tetanus; bacterial necrotizing fasciitis; and both superficial and deep bacterial wound infections.