Evaluation of infection rates with narrow versus broad-spectrum antibiotic regimens in civilian gunshot open-fracture injury

Jordan A. Woolum, Abby M. Bailey, Adam Dugan, Rahul Agrawal, Regan A. Baum

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Introduction: Civilian gunshot open-fracture injuries portray a significant health burden to patients. Use of antibiotics is endorsed by guideline recommendations for the prevention of post-traumatic infections, however, antimicrobial selection and their associated outcomes remains unclear. Therefore, we sought to compare infectious and other clinical outcomes between three antimicrobial cohorts in patients with gunshot-related fractures requiring operative intervention. Materials and methods: Patients were identified by retrospectively querying the University of Kentucky Trauma Registry for gunshot wound victims. A narrow regimen, an expanded gram-negative regimen, and a regimen containing a fluoroquinolone antimicrobial were identified for comparison. The primary outcome was a composite of infections at or before 14 days of hospitalization. Secondary endpoints included hospital length of stay, incidence of multidrug resistant bacteria and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization, number of drug-related adverse events, number of Clostridium difficile infections, and 30-day mortality. Results: 252 patients were selected for inclusion: 126 in the narrow regimen, 49 in the expanded gram-negative regimen, and 77 in the fluoroquinolone-based regimen. There were no statistical differences in the primary endpoint of early infectious outcomes between groups (p = 0.1797). The expanded gram-negative regimen was associated with increased hospital length of stay, and increased incidence of multi-drug resistant bacteria and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization. There were no statistically significant differences in any of the remaining secondary endpoints. Conclusion: In this study evaluating civilian gunshot trauma, broad spectrum antibiotic coverage was not associated with improvements in post-traumatic infections. A randomized trial is needed to confirm these results.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)934-939
Number of pages6
JournalAmerican Journal of Emergency Medicine
Volume38
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Inc.

Funding

The project described was supported by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through grant number UL1TR001998. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. The project described was supported by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through grant number UL1TR001998 . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

FundersFunder number
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)UL1TR001998
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

    Keywords

    • Antimicrobial
    • Fracture
    • Gunshot
    • Open
    • Prophylaxis

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Emergency Medicine

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