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Evidence summaries

Antibiotics for Preventing Infection in Open Limb Fractures

Antibiotics are effective in reducing the incidence of early infections in open fractures of the limbs. Level of evidence: "A"

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 8 studies with a total of 1 106 subjects. The use of antibiotics for open fractures of the limbs had a protective effect against early infection compared with no antibiotics or placebo (RR 0.43, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.65); absolute risk reduction 0.07 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.10). There were insufficient data in the included studies to evaluate other outcomes.

    References

    • Gosselin RA, Roberts I, Gillespie WJ. Antibiotics for preventing infection in open limb fractures. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2004;(1):CD003764 [Review content assessed as up-to-date: 27 July 2009]. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords