Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36846524›Full record

ArticleOTA international : the open access journal of orthopaedic trauma2023

Local administration of vancomycin powder in orthopaedic fracture surgery: current practice and trends.

Lucas S Marchand, Sheila Sprague, Nathan N O'Hara, Chuan Silvia Li, Robert V O'Toole, Manjari Joshi, Darius Viskontas, Nicholas Romeo, Robert A Hymes, William T Obremskey and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in OTA international : the open access journal of orthopaedic trauma, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Outcomes Associated with Choice of Prophylactic Antibiotics in Open Fractures.The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume · 2025
    Article
  9. Post-operative infection following ankle fracture surgery: a current concepts review.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2025
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Lucas S MarchandDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Sheila SpragueDepartment of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Nathan N O'HaraDepartment of Orthopaedics, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
Chuan Silvia LiDepartment of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Robert V O'TooleDepartment of Orthopaedics, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
Manjari JoshiDepartment of Infectious Disease, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, Baltimore, MD.
Darius ViskontasRoyal Columbian Hospital, New Westminster, BC, Canada.
Nicholas RomeoMetroHealth, Cleveland, OH.
Robert A HymesInova Fairfax Medical Centre, Falls Church, VA.
William T ObremskeyVanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN.
Thomas F HigginsDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Gorden D PotterSanford Health, Sioux Falls, SD.
Patrick F BerginUniversity of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS.
Mark GageDuke University, Durham, NC, and.
Joshua L GaryMcGovern Medical School at UTHealth, Houston, TX.
Mohit BhandariDepartment of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Gerard P SlobogeanDepartment of Orthopaedics, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: Surgical site infections in orthopaedic trauma are a significant problem with meaningful patient and health care system-level consequences. Direct application of antibiotics to the surgical field has many potential benefits in reducing surgical site infections. However, to date, the data regarding the local administration of antibiotics have been mixed. This study reports on the variability of prophylactic vancomycin powder use in orthopaedic trauma cases across 28 centers. Methods: Intrawound topical antibiotic powder use was prospectively collected within three multicenter fracture fixation trials. Fracture location, Gustilo classification, recruiting center, and surgeon information were collected. Differences in practice patterns across recruiting center and injury characteristics were tested using chi-square statistic and logistic regression. Additional stratified analyses by recruiting center and individual surgeon were performed. Results: A total of 4941 fractures were treated, and vancomycin powder was used in 1547 patients (31%) overall. Local administration of vancomycin powder was more frequent in open fractures 38.8% (738/1901) compared with closed fractures 26.6% (809/3040) ( Conclusions: Prophylactic intrawound vancomycin powder remains controversial with varied support throughout the literature. This study demonstrates wide variability in its use across institutions, fracture types, and surgeons. This study highlights the opportunity for increased practice standardization for infection prophylaxis interventions. Level of Evidence: Prognostic-III.

Indexed as

antibioticsorthopaedic fracture surgerysurgical site infectionsvancomycin powder

Identifiers

PMID36846524
PMCPMC9953039

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.