ArticleJournal of orthopaedic surgery and research2021
Study on the relationship between the timing of conversion from external fixation to internal fixation and infection in the treatment of open fractures of extremities.
Article in Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Staged conversion after circular ring external fixation in adult open long-bone fractures: A systematic review.Journal of clinical orthopaedics and trauma · 2026Review
- Time-dependent microbial colonisation of temporary external fixations: a prospective descriptive study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2026Article
- Biomechanical evaluation of X-ray permeable CF/PEEK composite versus conventional titanium alloy for tibial external fixation plates: a finite element analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Open Tibial Fractures Part 2: A Narrative Review of Definitive Treatment and Potential Applicability to the Southern African Context.Orthopedic research and reviews · 2026Review
- Management and Treatment Strategies for Distal Tibia and Ankle Infections: Our Clinical Experience.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Epidemiology, Diagnostic Modalities, Treatment Options and Outcomes of Open Knee Dislocations: A Systematic Review.Indian journal of orthopaedics · 2025Review
- Guest nation symposium: management of musculoskeletal war injuries.OTA international : the open access journal of orthopaedic trauma · 2025Article
- [Early internal fixation combined with free anterolateral thigh perforator flap transplantation to treat open ankle fracture-dislocation].Zhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery · 2025Article
- External fixation to intramedullary nailing for femoral and tibial fractures: an eleven-year cohort study at a level I trauma center.European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie · 2025Article
- Risk of infection and conversion time from external to definitive fixation in open tibial fracture.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2024Article
- Review
- Successful reimplantation of extruded bone segment in lower limb open fractures: case report and literature review.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2024Article
- Treatment preferences and current practices regarding open tibial shaft fractures.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate the relationship between the infection rate and the timing of replacement of temporary external fixators with internal fixation, and the timing of immediate or delayed internal fixation after removal of temporary external fixation in the staging treatment modality of open fractures of extremities.
methodsA retrospective analysis was performed on 122 cases of open fractures of extremities. External fixators were applied at the early stage and replaced with internal fixation when the condition of soft tissues improved and inflammatory indexes dropped to the normal range or showed a steady downward trend. Depending on the carrying time of external fixators after wound closure or healing, the patients were divided into three groups; the carrying time of groups A, B, and C was ≤ 14 days, 15-28 days, and > 28 days, respectively. Depending on the immediate or delayed internal fixation after removal of external fixator, patients were divided into group a (immediate internal fixation after removal of external fixator) and group b (delayed internal fixation after removal of external fixator, 5-7 days later).
resultsThe infection rates of groups A, B, and C were 6.5%, 5.9%, and 23.3%, respectively. The differences among the three groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The infection rates of different Gustilo-Anderson fractures were as follows: no cases of infection out of 10 cases with type I fracture (0%); two cases of infection out of 35 cases with type II fracture (5.7%); three cases of infection out of 36 cases with IIIa fracture (8.3%); five cases of infection out of 28 cases with IIIB fracture (17.9%); and five cases of infection out of 13 cases with IIIC fracture (38.5%). The differences among the five groups were statistically significant.
conclusionsThe occurrence of infection of open fractures of extremities is associated with the fracture severity (Gustilo classification). For open fractures of Gustilo types I and II, the final internal fixation should be placed as soon as possible when the recovery of general and local conditions is good and the infection is controlled.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.