title: Head injury-associated bone fractures induce bacterial translocation: an experimental study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether long bone fractures cause bacterial translocation and to investigate the effect of concomitant head trauma on this process.
  
  
  METHODS
  An in vivo animal model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Animal Laboratory, University of Mersin School of Medicine, Mersin, Turkey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 60).
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: (1). anesthesia only (control group, n = 12); (2). anesthesia and tibia fracture (n = 12); (3). anesthesia, tibia fracture, and femur fracture (n = 12); (4). anesthesia, tibia fracture, femur fracture, and moderate head trauma (n = 12); and (5). moderate head trauma only (n = 12). After 24 hours, mesenteric lymph nodes, liver, spleen, ileum, and systemic blood samples were quantitatively cultured for aerobic organisms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Colony-forming unit per gram for bacteria count.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The incidence of bacterial translocation was higher in groups that had fractures (4/12 in group 2; 5/12 in group 3) than in the control group (2/12); however, this did not reach statistical significance. There was a significant increase in the number of subjects with bacterial translocation in group 4 (9/12) compared with the control group and group 5 (3/12) (P = 0.0123, P = 0.0391).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Multiple fractures of long bones associated with head injury promote bacterial translocation.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Orthopaedics, Mersin University School of Medicine, Mersin, Turkey. oztuna67@mersin.edu.tr
authors.forename: Volkan
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Oztuna
authors.forename: Gülden
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ersöz
authors.forename: Irfan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ayan
authors.forename: Metin M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Eskandari
authors.forename: Kayhan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uğuz
authors.forename: Fehmi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kuyurtar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018988:Bacterial Translocation; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology; D005264:Femoral Fractures / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D009102:Multiple Organ Failure / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013978:Tibial Fractures / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*