Citation

Court-Brown CM, Rimmer S, Prakash U, McQueen MM. Injury 1998; 29(7): 529-534.

Affiliation

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10193496

Abstract

Open long bone fractures occur with a frequency of 11.5 per 100,000 persons per year. They are more common in males and they have a bimodal age distribution. Open fractures of the tibial diaphysis are the commonest, but open femoral diaphyseal, distal femoral and proximal tibial fractures tend to occur in the most seriously injured patients. Lower limb open fractures are more severe than open fractures of the upper limbs. Not only is the soft tissue damage less in open upper limb fractures, but there are fewer associated musculoskeletal injuries.