Prevalence of Surgical Site Infection in Patients With Femoral Shaft Fracture

Background: The surgical site infections (SSIs) associated with orthopedic surgeries are prevalent since the commonly used implantation techniques increase the risk of infection. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of SSI in patients with femoral shaft fracture (FSF). Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was performed on patients with FSF referred to Shahid Mohammadi hospital of Bandar Abbas, Iran from 2012 to 2016 for open intramedullary nailing (IMN) of the femoral shaft. Data were entered into the SPSS software version 25.0 for statistical analysis. Results: Sixty-two individuals with the mean age of 26.95±1.19 years participated in the study, of whom 85.5% were male and 14.5% were female. Twelve patients (19.4%) had open fractures and 50 (80.6%) had closed FSFs. SSI was observed in eight cases, one of whom had deep SSI (osteomyelitis). Our results showed that SSI was not correlated with age or sex (P < 0.05), but it was significantly correlated with the frequency of hospitalizations, fractures in other areas, and the type of fracture (open and closed) (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The overall prevalence of SSI was 12.9%, which was higher compared to previous studies. Humidity and warm weather can be major contributing factors to the high prevalence of post-operative infection in this treatment center; however, the conditions of the orthopedic operating room and facilities should also be considered.