The use of Acticoat<sup>®</sup> and Pin Sealer<sup>®</sup> to reduce the rate of pin-site sepsis with external fixators of the tibia Nortje

  • Marc Boydell Nortje University of Cape Town
  • Graham McCollum University of Cape Town
Keywords: external fixature, pin site care,

Abstract

A prospective randomised trial was performed to compare Acticoat® dressings with or without Pin Sealer™, to plain gauze soaked with Betadine® ointment with or without Pin Sealer™, as a dressing for the pin sites of external fixators. Twenty-five patients with 224 pin sites on open tibial fractures were followed-up for weekly observation for six weeks. The pin sites were graded from 1-6 in increasing order of severity and the dressings changed weekly. The average pin site grading of Acticoat® with Pin Sealer™ was 1.399, Acticoat® without Pin Sealer™ 1.452, Betadine® without Pin Sealer™ 1.646 and Betadine® with Pin Sealer™ 1.805. Statistical analysis showed that Acticoat® with Pin Sealer™ had a lower pin site grading than Betadine® with Pin Sealer™.

Author Biographies

Marc Boydell Nortje, University of Cape Town
MBChB, FCOrth(SA), MMed Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Department of Orthopaedic Surgery University of Cape Town Groote Schuur Hospital
Graham McCollum, University of Cape Town
MBChB, DipPec(SA), FCOrth(SA) Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Department of Orthopaedic Surgery University of Cape Town Groote Schuur Hospital Cape Town South Africa
Published
2013-08-05
Issue
Vol 6 No 2 (2013)
Section
Original Research

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