Fracture Related Infection

Fracture-related infection (FRI) is an infection occurring after operative or non-operative management of a fracture, and it represents one of the most serious complications encountered in orthopaedic trauma surgery. In 2018, an international expert group convened by the AO Foundation and the European Bone and Joint Infection Society (EBJIS) published a consensus definition for FRI, establishing standardized confirmatory and suggestive diagnostic criteria to overcome the historical absence of a uniform case definition, which had previously hampered both clinical practice and comparability of research in this field. * FRI can complicate both open and closed fractures treated by internal or external fixation. Its clinical spectrum ranges from early post-operative wound infection to chronic, recalcitrant post traumatic osteomyelitis, fracture non-union and, in severe cases, amputation of the affected limb. * The burden of FRI is multidimensional and falls on the patient, the treating surgical team, and the wider community Reported incidence of FRI varies widely according to fracture type, anatomical site and host/injury-severity factors. Pooled estimates from the literature suggest an overall incidence of approximately 0.4-16% across all operatively treated fractures: closed fractures carry a substantially lower risk (approximately 1-2%) than open fractures, in which incidence commonly exceeds 15% and rises further with increasing severity of soft-tissue and bony injury. A large multicentre cohort from India applying prospective follow-up reported an overall infection incidence of 2.9% (1.6% in closed and 8.0% in open tibial fractures) . Risk is further modulated by patient-related factors (diabetes mellitus, smoking, obesity, immunosuppression), injury related factors (high-energy mechanism, soft-tissue compromise, contamination) and treatment related factors (timing of antibiotic prophylaxis and surgical debridement, type of fixation, duration of surgery)

A fracture-related infection (FRI) is a difficult to treat condition in which a bone fracture and surrounding tissues are infected. This results in impaired healing and ongoing symptoms such as pain, wound leakage and swelling, which affects patients' functioning and quality of life. Despite adequate treatment in the form of extensive surgical debridement and long-term antibiotics, it is hard to obtain infection eradication. This pilot, non-blinded, randomized controlled trial (RCT) will assess the feasibility of a subsequent, larger RCT, in which hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) will be investigated as potential treatment modality for FRI in adjunction to standard care. HBOT induces an increased oxygen tension in the body and thereby inhibits inflammation and the growth of several bacteria. Furthermore, it stimulates bone and blood vessel formation. Therefore, HBOT might be of added value in the treatment of FRI. Data on process-related outcomes, patient-reported outcome measures, and clinical parameters are obtained during this pilot study to determine whether a subsequent study investigating the efficacy of HBOT is viable.

This is an Observational Device Registry Study of CERAMENT\|G in normal use in accordance with the IFU. It will run for a period of three years from enrolment of the first patient into the Study at each Site, before being subject to review. A Device Registry is a form of observational study that concerns the performance of a device in normal use. It is intended to collect data that is reflective of 'real world' device performance.

The purpose of the study is to assess whether infection rate is reduced with use of antibiotic-coated plate in severe open tibial fractures compare to use of external fixators