Indications for antibiotic cement nails.

Abstract

This article focuses on the surgical indications and techniques of antibiotic nailing of the femur. Spanning external fixation is an essential component of damage control orthopaedics. Fractures of the femur with significant soft tissue injury also often require prolonged external fixation, which increases the risk of infection. Antibiotic nails can sterilize the medullary canal contaminated by external fixator pins and prophylax against nosocomial infection, while the pin tracts heal to prepare the canal environment for a future staged metal nailing. Antibiotic nails may also be used as a bridge to definitive metallic intramedullary nailing after spanning external fixation in patients with multiple injuries or mangled limbs.