Adjuvant treatment of chronic osteomyelitis of the tibia following exogenous trauma using OSTEOSET registered -T: a review of 21 patients in a regional trauma centre

• Published in: Strategies in trauma and limb reconstruction Vol. 9; no. 3; pp. 157 - 161
• Main Authors: Humm, Gemma, Noor, Saqib, Bridgeman, Philippa, David, Michael, Bose, Deepa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 25.12.2014
• DOI: 10.1007/s11751-014-0206-y
• ISSN: 1828-8936

Surgical debridement and prolonged systemic antibiotic therapy are an established management strategy for infection after tibial fractures. Local antibiotic delivery via cement beads has shown improved outcome but requires further surgery for extraction of beads. OSTEOSET registered -T is a resorbable bone void filler composed of calcium sulphate and 4 % tobramycin that is packed easily into bone defects. This is a review of the outcomes of 21 patients treated with OSTEOSET registered -T for osteomyelitis of the tibia. This is a retrospective case note and clinical review. In all cases, the strategy was debridement, with removal of any implants, with excision back to bleeding bone. OSTEOSET registered -T pellets were packed into any contained defects or the intra-medullary canal with further bony stabilisation (n = 9) and soft tissue reconstruction (n = 7) undertaken as required. Intravenous vancomycin and meropenem were administered after sampling with substitution to targeted antibiotic therapy for between 6 weeks and 6 months. The average follow-up was 15 months. Union rate after tibial reconstruction was 100 %. Wound complications were encountered in 52 %: a wound discharge in the early post-operative period was noted in seven patients (33 %) independent of site of pellet placement. In the 14 cases without a wound leak, five developed wound complications (p = 0.06, Fisher's exact test) either from delayed wound-healing or pin-site infections. One patient developed a transient acute kidney injury and one refractory osteomyelitis. OSTEOSET registered -T is an effective adjunct in the treatment of chronic tibial osteomyelitis following trauma based on the low incidence of relapse of infection within the period of follow-up in this study, but significant wound complications and one transient nephrotoxic event were also recorded.