A fatal adverse effect of cefazolin administration: severe brain edema in a patient with multiple meningiomas

Prehospital Administration of Cefazolin in Trauma Patients

OBJECTIVE

A lack of research has become a barrier to the common use of prehospital antibiotics. The objective of this study is to further the limited research of prehospital antibiotics through evaluating the clinical impact, safety, and reliability of prehospital cefazolin administration in trauma patients.

METHODS

We completed a retrospective evaluation of adult trauma patients who were transported by a single air and ground critical care transport program between January 1, 2014, and June 30 2017. Two hundred eighty-two patients received prehospital cefazolin for deep wounds or open fractures before their arrival at a single level 2 trauma center during the study period. Patient demographics, mechanism of injury, injury type, infection rate, and identification of allergic reactions to cefazolin were also collected.

RESULTS

Of 278 patients in the final analysis, 35.3% (n = 98) were diagnosed with an open fracture and 58.6% (n = 163) had a deep tissue injury. Eighty-two percent of prehospital open fracture diagnoses were confirmed in the emergency department. The overall infection rate was 6%; 31.3% of patients received a second dose of cefazolin in the emergency department during the study period. No patients receiving prehospital cefazolin had allergic or anaphylactic reactions. The overadministration rate was 5% (n = 14).

CONCLUSION

Prehospital providers reliably identified open fractures, and prehospital cefazolin administration was not associated with anaphylactic reactions. This study population's infection rate of open fractures caused by traumatic injury was found to be 6%, and there was a low inappropriate administration rate.

Skin Complications of Orthopedic Procedures and Devices

BACKGROUND

Knowledge of skin complications and contributing factors in orthopedic patients is important for design and development of preventive approaches. Therefore, this study was designed to assess skin complications in orthopedic patients.

METHODS

In this case-series study, 126 orthopedic patients referred to Rasoul-e-Akram and Bahman hospitals from 2012 to 2016 with skin complications were analyzed. The adverse effects were assessed with respect to type and contributing factors. Fisher's exact test, Chi-square, and independent sample t-test were performed to assess the associations between skin complications and other variables.

RESULTS

Skin complications in orthopedic patients included infections in 33 (26.1%) cases and hypersensitivity reactions in 88 (40%) cases. In total, 66 (55%) cases of fracture and 35 (29.2%) cases of cellulitis were detected, while the remaining cases involved complications such as disc herniation, nerve involvement, and osteoarthritis-related arthroplasty. Severe reactions presenting as toxic epidermal necrolysis were observed in 3 patients, 2 of whom died eventually. Age and gender were not related to the type of skin complications (P>0.05).

CONCLUSION

Complications due to orthopedic treatments were not common. However, since the disease may become fatal on certain occasions, patients should receive more attention from physicians and nurses.