The top three unanswered questions in the management of open fractures.
review · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33937691.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1097/OI9.0000000000000072 and PMC identifier 8081489.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Despite improvements in treatment strategies and emphasis on preventative measures, the management of open fractures continues to be a challenging endeavor for orthopaedic surgeons. Deep infections, delayed healing, and nonunion continue to be problematic complications associated with these devastating injuries. There remain many unanswered clinical questions regarding the management of these injuries and how the various aspects of care can be further optimized. There continues to be a paucity of evidence regarding how infection can best be treated and prevented, how to reliability predict bone healing/nonunion, and how bone healing can be best augmented in the setting of open fractures and their potential nonunions. This review aims to assess the current literature on these top unanswered questions and discuss the gaps in evidence that may be filled with future studies.