The Microbiology of surgical site infection in closed upper limb fractures: data from a prospective trauma registry Authors Pervaiz Hashmi Department of Surgery, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan Tashfeen Ahmad Department of Surgery and Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan Zehra Abdul Muhammad Department of Surgery, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6048-9042 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47391/JPMA.2031 Abstract The current study aims to determine the rate of surgical site infection, causal microorganism, and antibiotic sensitivity pattern in operated upper limb closed fractures at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Cases presenting between June 2015 to October 2019, were selected from a single-centre, longitudinal, prospective orthopaedic trauma registry. Infection rate, causal microorganism, and antibiotic sensitivity pattern were determined up to six months after surgery. From among a total of 376 closed fractures, 12 encountered surgical site infection with some having late onset, giving an infection rate of 3% which is 1% higher than the international benchmark. Microorganism culture was performed on 5 (42%) patients out of which 2 (40%) were positive. Frequently used prophylactic antibiotics were first generation Cephalosporin and Co-amoxiclav in 9 (75%) patients, but all other the patients required other antibiotic categories. Five patients required implant removal with antibiotic coverage. K-wire insertion required prolonged antibiotic treatment. Most of the cultures were negative in spite of the presence of infection. Key words: Trauma registry, upper limb, closed fractures, wound infection. Author Biographies Pervaiz Hashmi, Department of Surgery, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan Associate Professor, Department of Surgery Zehra Abdul Muhammad, Department of Surgery, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan Instructor Research, Department of Surgery Downloads Full Text Article Published 2022-02-21 How to Cite Hashmi, P., Tashfeen Ahmad, & Muhammad, Z. A. (2022). The Microbiology of surgical site infection in closed upper limb fractures: data from a prospective trauma registry. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 72(6), 1184–1187. https://doi.org/10.47391/JPMA.2031 More Citation Formats ACM ACS APA ABNT Chicago Harvard IEEE MLA Turabian Vancouver Download Citation Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX Issue Vol. 72 No. 6 (2022): June Section Original Article