Pin Site Care (Subscribe)
Links
Care of patient with an external fixator Ilizarov
One of a collection or orthopaedic nursing care plans
External Fixator Care and Management
Vanderbilt Medical Center Nursing Policy
Halo Brace Procedures
Pin site and skin care for a patient in Halo Brace. Note - no supporting evidence in this document.
Halo Brace Protocol
Purpose: to outline the management of a patient in a halo brace
Literature review on Pin Site Care
The management of skeletal pin sites (largely for patients with external fixators) represents a major dilemma for orthopaedic nurses all over the world. Infection rates are high and there is very little evidence on which to base practice.
No difference between daily and weekly pin site care
Correspondence in Acta Orthopaedica. Interesting discussion and references
Pin site care for preventing infections associated with external bone fixators and pins
Cochrane Review by J Temple and J Santy
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007 Issue 2
Copyright © 2007 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pin Site Care Project
Report of progress on a research project to find a consensus on pin site care.
Skeletal Pin Site Care
Article from Orthopaedic Nursing 2005 Vol 24 #2 pp 99-107
NAON Guidelines. Inconculsive
The care of pin sites with external fixation
Two protocols for the operative technique and care of the pin-site with external fixation were compared prospectively. There was a total of 120 patients with 46 in group A and 74 in group B. Infection was defined as an episode of pain or inflammation at a pin site, accompanied by a discharge which was either positive on bacterial culture or responded to a course of antibiotics.
Patients in group B had a lower proportion of infected pin sites (p = 0.003) and the time to the first episode of infection was longer (p <0.001). The risk of pin-site infection is lower if attention is paid to avoiding thermal injury and local formation of haematoma during surgery and if after-care includes the use of an alcoholic antiseptic and occlusive pressure dressings
The effectiveness of pin site care for patients with external fixators
Abstract of Heather Williams, Peter Griffiths
British Journal of Community Nursing, Vol. 9, Iss. 5, 07 May 2004, pp 206 - 210
The study included two treatment groups, one using 0.9% normal saline and one using 70% alcohol, and a control group which had no cleansing. While the control group had a more favourable outcome than the treatment groups, there is still insufficient evidence from this one study to recommend no cleansing. It is also important to note that the most frequently recommended solution for cleansing pin sites in UK protocols (0.9% normal saline) had the worst outcome, therefore its efficacy in this population may need to be challenged.
The study included two treatment groups, one using 0.9% normal saline and one using 70% alcohol, and a control group which had no cleansing. While the control group had a more favourable outcome than the treatment groups, there is still insufficient evidence from this one study to recommend no cleansing. It is also important to note that the most frequently recommended solution for cleansing pin sites in UK protocols (0.9% normal saline) had the worst outcome, therefore its efficacy in this population may need to be challenged.
When your patient wears an Ilizarov Device
Clinical Savvy: When Your Patient Wears an Ilizarov Device
Ann Herman Driscoll
The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 93, No. 6 (Jun., 1993), pp. 63-65
