diagnostics Systematic Review The Effect of Delayed Surgical Debridement in the Management of Open Tibial Fractures: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Marios Nicolaides 1,* , Alexandros Vris 1,2 , Nima Heidari 1,2 , Peter Bates 1,2 and Georgios Pafitanis 3,4 1 Division of Orthopaedics, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 2AD, UK;
[email protected] (A.V.);
[email protected] (N.H.);
[email protected] (P.B.) 2 Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, The Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London E1 1FR, UK 3 Group for Academic Plastic Surgery, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 2AD, UK; g.pafi
[email protected] 4 Department of Plastic Surgery and Reconstructive Surgery, The Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London E1 1FR, UK * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: Introduction: Open tibial fractures are complex injuries with variable outcomes that significantly impact patients’ lives. Surgical debridement is paramount in preventing detrimental complications such as infection and non-union; however, the exact timing of debridement remains a topic of great controversy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between timing of surgical debridement and outcomes such as infection and non-union in open tibial fractures. Materials and Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature Citation: Nicolaides, M.; Vris, A.; to capture studies evaluating the association between timing of initial surgical debridement and Heidari, N.; Bates, P.; Pafitanis, G.