Academic Journal
Is antibiotic prophylaxis necessary for emergency joint or flexor tendon sheath hand injuries?
| Τίτλος: | Is antibiotic prophylaxis necessary for emergency joint or flexor tendon sheath hand injuries? |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Deruy C; Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique, CHU de Bordeaux, France. Electronic address: Docteur.deruy@gmail.com., Abi-Chahla ML; Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique, CHU de Bordeaux, France; Service de Chirurgie de la Main, CHU de Bordeaux, France., Mebroukine S; Service de Chirurgie Urologique, CHU de Bordeaux, France., Delgove A; Service de Chirurgie de la Main, CHU de Bordeaux, France. |
| Πηγή: | Hand surgery & rehabilitation [Hand Surg Rehabil] 2026 Sep; Vol. 45 (4), pp. 102723. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 30. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier Masson SAS Country of Publication: France NLM ID: 101681801 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2468-1210 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 24681210 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Hand Surg Rehabil Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Issy-les-Moulineaux : Elsevier Masson SAS, [2016]- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Surgical Wound Infection*/prevention & control , Surgical Wound Infection*/epidemiology , Tendon Injuries*/surgery , Hand Injuries*/surgery , Hand Joints*/surgery , Hand Joints*/injuries , Antibiotic Prophylaxis*, Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Female ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Emergencies |
| Περίληψη: | Objective: Emergency hand wounds involving joint or flexor tendon sheath exposure are considered at risk for postoperative infection. Intraoperative antibiotic prophylaxis is frequently prescribed in this setting, although its benefit remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of intraoperative antibiotic prophylaxis on postoperative infection rates in this population. Patients and Methods: A retrospective monocentric cohort study included adult patients operated on for clean emergency hand wounds with joint or flexor tendon sheath involvement between December 2023 and February 2025. Patients were divided into two groups according to intraoperative antibiotic prophylaxis administration: antibiotic group (A) and no antibiotic group (NA). The primary outcome was the occurrence of surgical site infection within 30 days postoperatively. Demographic data, injury characteristics and surgical delay were collected and compared between groups. Results: A total of 149 patients were included (median age: 33 years; 71% male). Seventy-three patients received intraoperative antibiotic prophylaxis and 76 did not. The overall infection rate was 2.0%. Infection occurred in 2.7% of patients in group A and 1.3% in group NA, with no statistically significant difference between groups (p = 0.60). No difference was observed regarding demographic characteristics, injury patterns or surgical delay between groups, except for male predominance in group A. Conclusion: Intraoperative antibiotic prophylaxis did not reduce postoperative infection rates in emergency hand wounds with joint or flexor tendon sheath involvement. These results suggest that routine antibiotic prophylaxis may not be necessary in clean cases and support the need for larger prospective multicenter studies to establish evidence-based guidelines. (Copyright © 2026 SFCM. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Antibiotic prophylaxis; Hand wounds; Infection; Joint exposure, flexor tendon sheath |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Anti-Bacterial Agents) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260630 Date Completed: 20260930 Latest Revision: 20260930 |
| Update Code: | 20261001 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.hansur.2026.102723 |
| PMID: | 42379298 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 2468-1210 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.hansur.2026.102723 |