TABLE V.
Factors Impacting Infection*
| Category | No Infection (N = 299) | Deep Infection (N = 36) | P Value | Deep and Superficial Infections (N = 52) | P Value |
| Patient age† (yr) | 38.3 ± 17.4 | 40.3 ± 14.9 | 0.497 | 38.8 ± 15.6 | 0.845 |
| Patient sex‡ | 0.189 | 1.00 | |||
| Female | 103 (34.4) | 8 (22.2) | 18 (34.6) | ||
| Male | 196 (65.6) | 28 (77.8) | 34 (65.4) | ||
| Tobacco use‡ | 0.001 | 0.011 | |||
| None to less than half a pack per day | 241 (80.6) | 25 (69.4) | 37 (71.2) | ||
| One to one and a half packs per day | 56 (18.7) | 8 (22.2) | 12 (23.1) | ||
| Two or more packs per day | 2 (0.7) | 3 (8.3) | 3 (5.8) | ||
| Alcohol use‡ | 0.051 | 0.069 | |||
| None or occasional | 170 (56.9) | 14 (38.9) | 22 (42.3) | ||
| Abuse | 129 (43.1) | 22 (61.1) | 30 (57.7) | ||
| Illicit drug use‡ | 0.154 | 0.226 | |||
| No | 227 (75.9) | 23 (63.9) | 35 (67.3) | ||
| Yes | 72 (24.1) | 13 (36.1) | 17 (32.7) | ||
| Diabetes‡ | 0.096 | 0.162 | |||
| No | 286 (95.7) | 32 (88.9) | 47 (90.4) | ||
| Yes | 13 (4.3) | 4 (11.1) | 5 (9.6) | ||
| Polytrauma‡ | 0.597 | 0.88 | |||
| No | 132 (44.1) | 14 (38.9) | 22 (42.3) | ||
| Yes | 167 (55.9) | 22 (61.1) | 30 (57.7) | ||
| Intensive care unit admission‡ | 0.074 | 0.171 | |||
| No | 181 (60.5) | 16 (44.4) | 26 (50.0) | ||
| Yes | 118 (39.5) | 20 (55.6) | 26 (50.0) | ||
| ASA score† (points) | 2.5 ± 1.0 | 2.8 ± 1.0 | 0.093 | 2.5 ± 0.9 | 0.095 |
| Fixation location | 0.104 | 0.084 | |||
| Upper extremity | 96 (32.1) | 10 (27.8) | 11 (21.2) | ||
| Lower extremity | 105 (35.1) | 8 (22.2) | 16 (30.8) | ||
| Tibia | 98 (32.8) | 18 (50.0) | 25 (48.1) | ||
| Fixation type‡ | 0.004 | 0.023 | |||
| Minimally invasive§ | 107 (35.8) | 23 (63.9) | 29 (55.8) | ||
| Open reduction and internal fixation | 111 (37.1) | 6 (16.7) | 14 (26.9) | ||
| Intramedullary nail | 81 (27.1) | 7 (19.4) | 9 (17.3) | ||
| Time to surgical procedure† (hr) | 13.5 ± 10.9 | 10.7 ± 8.4 | 0.122# | 10.3 ± 8.0 | 0.023# |
| Fracture type‡ | <0.001 | <0.001 | |||
| I | 42 (14.0) | 2 (5.6) | 2 (3.8) | ||
| II | 122 (40.8) | 7 (19.4) | 17 (32.7) | ||
| IIIA | 108 (36.1) | 10 (27.8) | 15 (28.8) | ||
| IIIB | 25 (8.4) | 15 (41.7) | 16 (30.8) | ||
| IIIC | 2 (0.7) | 2 (5.6) | 2 (3.8) | ||
| Nonunions‡ | 32 (10.7) | 18 (50.0) | <0.001 | 20 (38.5) | <0.001 |
| Duration of follow-up† (mo) | 11.3 ± 11.2 | 16.3 ± 15.6 | 0.04# | 15.4 ± 14.6 | 0.034# |
*
The demographic and fracture characteristics are based on presence or absence of infection (i.e., associations based on outcomes).
†
The values are given as the mean and the standard deviation.
‡
The values are given as the number of fractures, with the percentage in parentheses.
§
This fixation includes closed reduction percutaneous pinning and external fixation.
#
These p values were determined with use of the Mann-Whitney test.