Table 3.

Solutions used for cleaning pins

Author	Interventions	No. of patients	No. of pin sites	Patient population	Pin-care regime	Findings
Patterson, 200514	Hydrogen peroxide	22	122	Consecutive adults and children treated for factures	Twice daily dressing changes (with exception of 1 subgroup with change as required). Cleansing subgroups as per Table 4	Hydrogen peroxide–4% infection rate with Xeroform dressing, 28% with cause Soap–12% infection rate with Xeroform dressing, 14% with cause Saline–20% infection rate with Xeroform dressing, 32% with cause Hydrogen peroxide group had significantly reduced PSI, but only when combined with Xeroform dressings
	Antibacterial soap and water	29	174
	0.9% saline	30	173
Camilo, 201517	10% polyvinyl-pyrrolidone-iodine	15	ND	Adults and adolescents with Ilizarov frames (indications ND)	Patient-led cleaning of pins with saline post-shower before dressing applied (frequency ND)	66.7% PSI with polyvinylpyrrolidone-iodine 46.7% PSI with saline (NS)
	0.9% saline	15	ND
Cavusoglu, 200915	10% polyvinyl-pyrrolidone-iodine	19	300	Adults with Ilizarov fixators for tibia fractures	Patient-led pin cleansing with no dressings First 15 days: Every 3 days with iodine, no dressings, no showers After 15 days: Daily showers and cleansing with experimental solution	50.7% minor infection and 3.5% major infections with iodine 43.6% minor infections and 3.7% major infections with soap (NS)
	Soap*	20	310
Henry, 199612	None	ND	40	ND	Daily pin care with the experimental solution	7.5% PSI with no solution 25% PSI with saline 17.5% PSI with alcohol (No statistics reported)
	0.9% saline	ND	40
	70% alcohol	ND	40
	10% povidone-iodine solution

^*Following 15 days treatment with 10% polyvinyl-pyrrolidone-iodine; ND, not declared; NS, not statistically significant