Titanium intramedullary nail coated with vancomycin-hydroxyapatite in a model of open long bone fracture with wound infection / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Tibia open fracture is a common disease, and intramedullary fixation has become the first choice, but the high risk of postoperative infection limits its clinical application.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the early prevention effect of vancomycin-hydroxyapatite (VCM-HA) coated titanium intramedullary nail in a rabbit model of open femoral fracture combined with wound infection.METHODS: Titanium intramedullary nails coated with three different concentrations of VCM-HA were prepared using biomimetic deposition, and subsequently in vitro bacteriostasis experiment was performed. Forty healthy male New Zealand white rabbits were selected and the model of mid-femur open fracture with wound infection was prepared. The rabbit models were then divided into ordinary intramedullary nail, low-, middle- and high-concentration VCM-HA coated intramedullary nail groups (n=10 per group). The wound appearance of the animals was dynamically observed. The body mass, anal temperature, white blood cells and C-reactive protein contents in the venous blood were monitored. The pathological examination of the soft tissue around the fracture and injured limb X-ray were conducted regularly.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The prepared VCM-HA coated titanium intramedullary nail exerted obvious antibacterial effects in vitro. The anal temperature in the ordinary nail group was significantly higher than that in the other three groups at 3 days after modeling (P < 0.05). The white blood cells and C-reactive protein contents in the venous blood in the VCM-HA groups were significantly lower than those in the ordinary nail group at 3, 7, 14 and 28 days after modeling (P < 0.05). The hematoxylin-eosin staining of the peripheral tissues displayed the inflammatory response in the VCM-HA groups was milder than that in the ordinary nail group at each time point after modeling. The injured limb X-ray displayed that the callus grew slowly accompanied with sequestration in the ordinary nail group, while the callus growth in the VCM-HA groups was significantly better than that in the ordinary nail group. To conclude, the VCM-HA coated intramedullary nail can effectively reduce postoperative infection in an animal model of open femoral fracture combined with wound infection.