Introduction Open extremity fractures are complex injuries involving soft tissue disruption and bone discontinuity, often associated with significant morbidity and mortality due to complications such as infection. Infection remains a primary concern, exacerbating patient outcomes and increasing healthcare costs. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker with potential utility for early detection of infection in these cases. Materials and methods This prospective observational study was conducted at Justice K S Hegde Charitable Hospital between October 2022 and April 2024. Forty patients with open fractures who met inclusion criteria were enrolled. PCT levels were measured preoperatively and on postoperative days 1 and 5. Patients were monitored for clinical signs of infection for one month. Data analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics. Results The mean age of the patients was 42.26 ± 16.62 years, with a male predominance of 35 (87.5%) of the total sample size. Preoperative PCT levels were significantly higher in patients who developed infections (mean: 1.02 ng/mL) compared to non-infected patients (mean: 0.13 ng/mL). Postoperative PCT levels continued to rise in all patients but were significantly elevated in the infected group (p < 0.01). Conclusion PCT is a reliable biomarker for the early detection of postoperative infections in open fractures. Elevated preoperative PCT levels (>0.5 ng/mL) predict infection, while non-infected patients showed lower trauma-related increases. Further studies with larger samples are recommended to validate these findings.
Keywords: infection prediction; open fractures; orthopedic trauma; postoperative infection; procalcitonin (pct).
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