Paper presentedThe outcome of open pelvic fractures in the modern era
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
The records of 44 patients diagnosed with open pelvic fracture during a 10-year period, ending in December 2004, were reviewed. All patients were under the care of the Emory University Trauma Service at Grady Memorial Hospital, Georgia-state level I trauma center. The study was performed with the approval of the Emory University Institutional Review Board.
Patients were identified in the Trauma Registry of the American College of Surgeons (TRACS), and data were collected by reviewing the
Demographics and mechanism of injury
Between January 1995 and December 2004, 1506 patients with pelvic fractures were admitted to the Trauma Service of Emory University at Grady Memorial Hospital. Of these, 44 (3%) patients were identified with pelvic fractures that were considered to be “open” injuries. Demographic information is listed in Table 1.
In general, patients with open pelvic fractures were subjected to significant kinetic energy transfers, and, as such, associated injuries were common. The average injury severity score
Comments
In 4 series published in the 1970s and early 1980s, mortality rates associated with open pelvic fractures ranged from 42% to 58% [12], [13], [14], [15]. More recent series, however, have documented significantly lower mortality rates, with 8 series published in the 1990s (describing a total of 257 patients) averaging a mortality rate of 18% [4], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22]. Factors that have been associated with mortality include age, ISS, degree of bony injury, size of the open
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