Benzylpenicillin ineffective for open fractures. Prospective study of 60 cases.

In a prospective study of 60 open fractures treated with prophylactic antibiotics, 10 developed infection with 2/40 Grades 1 and 2 fractures and 8/20 Grade 3 fractures. Intravenous penicillin was ineffective against Staphylococcus aureus and epidermidis, the most usual organisms causing infection in open fractures, as 62 percent of the organisms cultured from the initial culture and 92 percent of those cultured during infection were resistant to penicillin. For the second generation cephalosporins, the respective figures were 21 and 30 percent.