title: Foreign-body reactions to polyglycolide screws. Observations in 24/216 malleolar fracture cases.
abstract: Out of 216 patients with displaced malleolar fractures operated on using absorbable polyglycolide screws, 24 developed a transient local nonbacterial inflammatory reaction on an average 3 months after the operation. Upon histopathologic examination, these tissue responses were found to be nonspecific foreign-body reactions. Neither the age of the patient nor the number of screws used in the fixation affected the incidence of the reactions. The first-generation screws that were colored with an aromatic quinone dye showed a higher incidence, 19 reactions among 105 patients, than the new noncolored implants, 5 among 111 patients (P less than 0.01). No deleterious effect of these tissue responses on the union of the fractures could be detected, but the possible long-term consequences of this complication are so far unknown.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Böstman
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Partio
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hirvensalo
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rokkanen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016512:Ankle Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D001863:Bone Screws; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005549:Foreign-Body Reaction / Q000209:etiology*; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011184:Postoperative Period; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid