Introduction: Pelvic and acetabulum fractures are commonly caused by high impact injuries, increasing the risk of patients developing thromboembolic diseases such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Therefore, this study was performed to determine the incidence of lower extremity DVT in patients with pelvic and acetabulum fractures and the importance of preoperative screening with Doppler ultrasound prior to surgical intervention. Materials and methods: This retrospective study involved 78 patients with pelvic and acetabulum fractures requiring surgical intervention from January 2015 until December 2019. Patients who underwent surgical interventions were screened pre-operatively with Doppler ultrasound to detect lower limb DVT and later compared with the incidence of lower limb DVT post-operatively. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 24. Results: The participants of this study consisted of 30.8% females and 69.2% males. Pre-operative screening with Doppler ultrasound showed that three patients (3.8%) were diagnosed with lower limb DVT, whereas one of them (1.3%) was symptomatic and diagnosed with PE. Postoperatively, one patient developed DVT, and one patient developed PE. Both patients were negative for DVT preoperatively. Conclusion: The incidence of DVT in patients with pelvic and acetabulum fractures requiring operative intervention was significant despite the initiation of mechanical and pharmacological thromboprophylaxis upon admission. Despite the low incidence of DVT in our study, it has a high impact on patients’ morbidity and mortality; thus, preoperative screening is important for early detection and the subsequent reduction of the risk of developing PE. The compulsory use of Doppler ultrasound of bilateral lower limbs as a part of pre-operative screening is highly recommended because it is cost-effective, efficient and readily available in most tertiary hospitals nationwide.

Introduction: The primary aim of open fracture management is to prevent fracture-related infection by early antibiotic administration, debridement and wound coverage. However, the timing of the initial debridement is still controversial, and 6 to 24 hours is commonly advocated. Studies have yet to provide substantial evidence regarding the best time for surgical debridement. Thus, this study was conducted to compare the incidence of fracture-related infection at different time intervals of initial debridement of the open tibia fracture. Materials and methods: A total of 91 patients with grade I, II and IIIa open tibia fractures were recruited from 2016 to 2018, and their data were obtained from the consensus book and medical records. Participants were divided into four groups based on the time of initial debridement: (1) less than 6 hours, (2) 6 to less than 12 hours, (3) 12 to less than 24 hours, and (4) 24 hours and more. Fracture-related infection was determined by using Metsemakers confirmative criteria. Association between time and infection were determine by Binary Logistic Regression analysis by remerged the group into three; (1) less than 12 hours, (2) 12 to less than 24 hours and (3) 24 hours and more. The collected information was analysed using SPSS version 24 and Microsoft Excel 2010. Results: The mean age of the participants was 31.9 years old, with male predominant (n=80, 87.0%). Most participants had delayed initial debridement of more than 24 hours and predominantly Gustilo-Anderson type IIIa (n=47). A total of 8 fractures complicated with infection (8.7%), majority in grade IIIa and debridement performed within 12 to less than 24 hours. Binary logistic regression showed increased odds of infection with a delayed wound debridement both in clinical presentation and positive culture, but the association was not statistically significant. The commonest organism isolated was Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Conclusion: Comparing to different time interval, initial wound debridement of more than 24 hours did not have strong association with increasing infection rate. However, even though statistically not significant, the odds of infection was increase with increasing time of initial wound debridement of an open tibia fracture, thus it should be performed early.