Role of single dose antibiotic prophylaxis in clean orthopedic surgery

To compare the proportion of early postoperative infection in clean orthopedic surgery after single dose of prophylactic antibiotic and multiple doses of prophylactic antibiotic. Interventional quasi-experimental study. Department of Orthopedics, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Karachi from April 2004 to March 2005. Two hundred patients of either age and gender, undergoing clean orthopedic surgery were equally divided into two groups A and B. Group A was given single dose of prophylactic antibiotic, while group B was given multiple doses of prophylactic antibiotic. Follow-up period was 28 days. All cases were evaluated for postoperative wound infection. Sampling technique was non-probability convenience. Mean age was 35.51+20.79 years in group A and 26.17+19.79 years in group B. However, there was a significantly higher proportion of male patients in group B than in group A [p=0.006]. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in the proportion of early postoperative infection cases between the two groups[p=0.270]. Staphylococcus aureus was the commonest organism cultured from the wound discharge in our study followed by E. coli. Eight of our cases having postoperative wound infection showed no growth, out of which 7 were superficial and 1 was deep. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding mean operating time and duration of stay in hospital. There was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of early postoperative infection cases between the two groups

Assesment of risk factors of osteoporosis

To assess the risk factors of osteoporosis. Descriptive study. OPD of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, KMDC Basic health unit and Zubaida medical centre from August 2005 to November 2005. 231 persons of either sex were included in the study. Pattern of life style and dietary intake was studied using a questionnaire. Bone mineral density [BMD] was measured using quantitative ultrasound. Weight in kg was recorded. Males below 60 years and females below 40 years of age were excluded from the study. Also persons with incomplete information were excluded from the study. Out of 231 persons, 179 were females and 52 were males. Mean weight in males was 67.40+12.8 kg and in females 64.04+13.1 kg. A significantly high proportion of persons [71.3%] living in joint families had osteopenia or osteoporosis [p<0.031], compared to persons in nuclear families [60.4%]. There was no significant relationship between BMD and profession [p=0.563], sex [p=0.463], intake of calcium [p-=0.664], observing veil [p=0.789] and exposure to sunlight [p=0.356]. In our study, significantly higher percentage of persons living in joint families had osteopenia or osteoporosis. However, no statistically significant association was found between BMD and dietary intake pattern, early marriage, observing veil or exposure to sunlight in our study