Year Book: Established Hand Infections: Controlled, Prospective Study

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Stern-Peter-J. Staneck-Joseph-L. McDonough-John-J. Neale-Henry-W. Tyler-George. 1986 Year Book of Hand Surgery. Article 10-3. J. Hand Surg. 1984 Sep. 8. pp 553-559. Established hand infection is a leading cause of admission to hospital hand services. A prospective study of 200 consecutive established infections was carried out in the emergency room of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center to compare the efficacy of cefamandole and nafcillin. In all cases, purulent fluid was recovered by surgical drainage. Patients using antibiotics or immunosuppressive drugs were excluded, as were pregnant women and anyone with a postoperative infection or contaminated injury. The wounds were left open after drainage or wound debridement; silicone drains were used when indicated. Use of an irrigating catheter was optional. Patients randomly received 500 mg of cefamandole or nafcillin intravenously every 4 hours for 3 days. The average patient age was 32 years.