Treatment Options for Pin Site Infection during Kirschner Wires in Elective Forefoot Surgery

Abstract

The Kirschner wires (K-wires) are stiff and straight wires made of smooth stainless steel. These are used in surgery to aid in repairing the process of a fractured bone. In forefoot elective surgeries, these pins are mostly used for fixation of the phalangeal or metatarsal area. These wires are usually either buried or exposed, The exposed wires do not require another operation to remove them and are generally preferred. In using the forefoot surgery history of a single surgeon which was taken for 3 years. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the occurrence of infections following elective surgeries of the forefoot that were fixed using k-pins and to indicate an effective treatment option for resolving the infection. The inclusion criteria set for this study was to remove any patient having any disease except for diabetes. Moreover, the age limit was set to be 18 - 44, making a final sample of 50 people, prescribed prophylactic antibiotics or early removal of k-pins, where necessary. The researcher recorded demographic and biological data from the patients such as age, BMI, and smoking status were recorded. The researcher conducted a Univariate analysis via a Chi-square test. 50 Patients (82 K-wires) were analyzed. Results showed that surgery type, BMI, and smoking were three variables that affect the infection growth significantly while diabetes and type of cleaning disinfectant had marginal effects. Further study is required to clarify the best treatments in this area, as the treatment option antibiotics have nearly similar results.