Infection Reduces Return-to-duty Rates for Soldiers with Type III Open Tibia Fractures

Abstract

Infection is a potentially devastating complication following severe lower extremity trauma, but its impact on the outcomes of combat casualties remains unclear. We hypothesize that orthopedic infectious complications will have a negative impact on holistic patient outcome as measured by return-to-duty (RTD) and disability ratings among wounded soldiers. We reviewed the medical records for 115 wounded soldiers who sustained a Type III open tibia fracture and tabulated the prevalence of infectious complications. We searched the Physical Evaluation Board database to determine the disability ratings of soldiers with and without an infection and how many of each group was able to return to active duty service. The average percent disability rating and RTD rates between groups were compared using an unpaired t test and W2 test, respectively. Overall, 40% of our cohort had an infectious complication of their fractured limb. Twenty-one soldiers were able to RTD, while 94 could not and were medically retired. Of those medically retired, 44% had an infection. The average percent disability among soldiers with infection was 55%, compared with 47% for those who were not infected ( p 0.1407). Soldiers who experienced any type of infectious complication (p 0.0470) and having osteomyelitis ( p 0.0335) had a lower chance of RTD compared with those who had no infection. Having a deep soft tissue infection alone showed a strong trend toward decreased RTD rate (p 0.0558). Infectious complications following severe lower extremity trauma significantly decrease the rate of RTD. In addition, the presence of infectious complications demonstrates a trend toward higher disability ratings in the combat wounded.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2014
Accession Number
ADA614551

Entities

People

  • Clinton K. Murray
  • Jessica C. Rivera
  • Joseph C Wenke
  • Joseph R. Hsu
  • Matthew A. Napierala
  • Travis C. Burns

Organizations

  • United States Army Institute of Surgical Research

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Duty
  • Bone Fractures
  • Combat Injuries
  • Debridement
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Infection
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Lower Extremity
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Medicine
  • Soft Tissues
  • Surgery
  • Therapy
  • Wound Infections

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

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  • Rehabilitation and Prosthetic Care for Military Service Members and Veterans with Limb Loss or Disability.