Aim of study: To evaluate infectious complications in patients operated for pelvic ring injury (level 1 trauma-centre).

Method: Retrospective study of patients treated for pelvic ring injury in 5 years (July 1999 – June 2004), in whom wound infection was diagnosed clinically (purulent secretion) or by microbiological culture.

Results: In the period 102 patients with pelvic ring injury as part of polytrauma were treated in trauma-centre. Thirteen patients died during few hours after admission without any surgical treatment of pelvis fracture and were excluded from the study group. Type A fracture of AO/ASIF classification was diagnosed in 18 (20 %), type B in 48 (54 %), type C in 23 patients (26 %). Forty three patients were operated (25 ORIF, 18 external fixation). Postoperative infection was diagnosed in 4 patients (9 % of all surgically treated) with mixed bacterial flora isolated in 3 patients and negative culture in 1 patient. In the same time period the frequency of infectious complications after the surgical treatment of musculoskeletal injuries was 1,3 % and mixed bacterial flora was detected in only 40 % of them.

Conclusion: In patients surgically treated for pelvic ring injury the occurence of infectious complications is significantly higher than in patients surgically treated for other skeletal injury. The infections are frequently poly-microbial.