Objective To investigate the clinical outcome of post-traumatic tibial osteomyelitis treated by induced membrane technique combined with the antibiotic cement-coated locking plate.Methods A restrospective case series analysis was made on 71 cases of post-traumatic tibial osteomyelitis treated by induced membrane technique from September 2014 to September 2014.There were 55 males and 16 females, aged 18-60 years(mean, 37.4 years).Mean length of bone defect following debridement was 4.5 cm(range, 4-11 cm).Antibiotic cement-coated locking plates were used to provide the stability of the bone defects after one-stage debridement.Bone grafting and exchanging the plates with ntramedullary nails were done during the second-stage surgery.Parameters were monitored dynamically after operation to evaluate infection recurrence and bone healing, including C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), clinical features(sinus formation, redness and swelling, warmth and pain) and X-ray films of the involved limbs.Results All patients were followed up for 13-25 months (mean, 19.5 months).There was no sign of recurring infection and CRP and ESR were normal in all cases after the first stage surgery.However, four cases (6%) had recurrent infection with sinus exudates and their CRP and ESR were abnormal after the second stage surgery, and further treatments were carried out on these patients.Follow-up showed bony union in all patients within mean 5.5 months (range, 4-6 months).Conclusion Induced membrane technique with antibiotic cement-coated locking plates for treatment of post-traumatic tibial osteomyelitis can shorten bone healing time and decrease infection recurrent rate without obvious impact on osteogenic activity.

Objective To investigate the results of Cierny-Mader type Ⅳ posttraumatic long bone infection treated by en bloc resection combined with induced membrane technique.Methods A retrospective case series analysis was made on 36 patients with posttraumatic long bone infection treated by en bloc resection combined with induced membrane technique from January 2013 to January 2015.There were 30 male and 6 female patients between 21 and 68 years (mean,41 years).Infection control,bone union,function activity and complications were detected after operation.Results After debridement in the first stage,a segmental bone defect of 5.5 cm in length (range,2-10.9 cm) was seen in all patients.Seven patients needed a local flap transfer to cover the wound and five patients had a second debridement.Mean duration of systemic antibiotic use was 2 weeks (range,1-6 weeks) and mean time interval of second-stage bone grafting was 12 weeks after debridement (range,6-36 weeks).Mean follow-up was 29.5 months (range,24-45 months).One patient had recurrence and was cured with radical debridement and a permanent acrylic spacers insertion,with the cure rate of bone infection of 97％ (35/36).All patients achieved bone union with a mean duration of 5.9 months (range,4-8 months),and were able to walk independently.Thirty patients returned to work or pre-operative physical labor.No pain and re-fracture occurred.Six patients had adjacent joint stiffness.Conclusion En bloc resection combined with induced membrane technique is associated with radical debridement,decreased recurrence rate and limb salvage,indicating a simple and effective method for Cierny-Mader type Ⅳ posttraumatic long bone infection.

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of membrane induction technique in the treatment of postoperative infection of tibial plateau fractures in adults.Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 21 adult patients with postoperative infection of tibial plateau fractures treated with membrane induction technique from April 2013 to May 2017 in Southwest Hospital of Army Medical University. There were 19 males and two females, aged 19-60 years [(44.1±5.8)years]. There was one patient with type IV fractures, 14 with type V, and 6 with type VI according to the initial fracture typing by Schatzker's classification. There were three patients with infection period of within 3 weeks, 12 of 3-10 weeks, and 6 of over 10 weeks. All patients underwent two-stage operation using membrane induction technique to place cement in the bone defect area. After removal of internal fixation and thorough debridement, antibiotic cement and internal fixation plate were placed at stage I. Bone graft and reconstruction was performed at stage II. The infection indicators were recorded. Infection indices were monitored, including white blood cell count (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Clearance of infection, bony union and complications were evaluated. Range of motion (ROM) and scoring of Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) were used to evaluate the function of knee joint.Results:All patients were followed up for 12-62 months with an average of 23.5 months. Compared with 3 months after stage II, the indicators of infection at stage I showed that WBC was decreased from (10.6±2.3)×10 9/L to (6.7±3.5)×10 9/L, ESR decreased from (26.0±5.3)mm/h to (12.1±4.3)mm/h, and CRP decreased from (10.0±1.5)mg/L to (5.8±1.0)mg/L ( P<0.05). Infection was cleared in 17 patients after stage I operation, and the other 4 patients had infection recurrence, which were given stage I debridement again to control the infection. Two patients were treated with local flap transfer to cover the wound because of skin soft tissue defect after debridement. Another two patients underwent knee arthrodesis, and none was amputated. X-ray film indicated bony union in 21 patients at 46 months (mean, 4.5 months) after operation, and clinical bone healing was acquired in all 21 patients. One patient showed donor site infection. No nonunion, recurrence of infection after stage II, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism occured after the second stage. At the latest follow-up, ROM in patients with infection periods within 3 weeks and 3-10 weeks was singnificantly improved from [(95.2±10.4)° and (85.7±11.5)°] to [(120.2±10.5)° and (98.6±12.2)°] ( P<0.01), but not in patients with infection periods of over 10 weeks ( P>0.05). The HSS score in all patients was significantly improved after operation [(65.6±8.2)points vs. (82.0±6.6)points]( P<0.01). Conclusion:For adult patients with tibial plateau fracture, membrane induction technique can effectively control the postoperative infection, achieve clinical bone healing and improve the knee function.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of induced membrane technique combined with locking compression plate as an external fixator for the treatment of tibia infected defects.Methods Data of 107 patients with tibia infected defects who were treated by induced membrane technique combined with locking compression plate (LCP) as an external fixator in our department from June 2013 to May 2015 were retrospectively analyzed.Among them,62 cases' LCP were replaced with intramedullary nail during second stage (internal fixation group),while 45 cases kept their LCP (external fixation group).There were 52 males and 10 females in internal fixation group,aged from 18-61 (average,39.6),and their bone defects ranged from 3-17 cm (average,6.93 cm).15 cases were type Ⅲ and 47 cases were type Ⅳ according to Cierny-Mader classification.9 cases were suffered from hematogenous osteomyelitis and 53 cases suffered from trauma.15 cases located in proximal tibia,28 cases in middle tibia and 19 cases in distal tibia.There were 45 cases in external fixation group,aged from 18-65 (average,41.3),and their bone defects ranged from 5-12 cm (average,7.12 cm).13 cases were type Ⅲ and 32 cases were type Ⅳ according to Cierny-Mader classification.6 cases were suffered from hematogenous osteomyelitis and 39 cases suffered from trauma.12 cases located in proximal tibia,19 cases in middle tibia and 14 cases in distal tibia.Results All 107 patients have been successfully followed up for 18-40 months (23.5 in average).There were 20 patients (18.7％) encountered with a second debridement before grafting because of infection recurrence and culture positive was verified in 10 cases.101 cases acquired bone union,including 58 cases in internal fixation group and 43 cases in external fixation group.Average radiographic bone union time was 6.2 and 6.9 months in internal fixation group and external fixation group respectively.Nonuinon was observed in 6 cases (internal fixation group 4 cases,external fixation group 2 cases),with nonuion rate of 6.5％ (4/62) and 4.4％ (2/45).Infection reccurrence was found 3 cases in internal fixation group and 2 cases in external fixation group,with infection reccurence rate of 4.8％ (3/62) and 4.4％ (2/45) respectively.There were 5 cases observed pin track infection and 6 cases with pin track loosening in external fixation group.Conclusion Locking compression plate combined with induced membrane technique in the treatment of tibia infected defects can achieve a good clinical efficacy despite the complication of pin-track loosening and infection,unfavorable to the reconstruction of grafting bone.In internal fixation group,both radiographic bone union and clinical bone union were shorter comparing with external fixation group.So,intramedullary nail is a better choice of induced membrane technique during the second stage.

Infectious bone defect is bone defect with infection or as a result of treatment of bone infection. It requires surgical intervention, and the treatment processes are complex and long, which include bone infection control,bone defect repair and even complex soft tissue reconstructions in some cases. Failure to achieve the goals in any step may lead to the failure of the overall treatment. Therefore, infectious bone defect has been a worldwide challenge in the field of orthopedics. Conventionally, sequestrectomy, bone grafting, bone transport, and systemic/local antibiotic treatment are standard therapies. Radical debridement remains one of the cornerstones for the management of bone infection. However, the scale of debridement and the timing and method of bone defect reconstruction remain controversial. With the clinical application of induced membrane technique, effective infection control and rapid bone reconstruction have been achieved in the management of infectious bone defect. The induced membrane technique has attracted more interests and attention, but the lack of understanding the basic principles of infection control and technical details may hamper the clinical outcomes of induced membrane technique and complications can possibly occur. Therefore, the Chinese Orthopedic Association organized domestic orthopedic experts to formulate An evidence-based clinical guideline for the treatment of infectious bone defect with induced membrane technique ( version 2023) according to the evidence-based method and put forward recommendations on infectious bone defect from the aspects of precise diagnosis, preoperative evaluation, operation procedure, postoperative management and rehabilitation, so as to provide useful references for the treatment of infectious bone defect with induced membrane technique.