[The Biological Knife II - Fracture Healing and Pharmacological Interactions].

The reasons for delayed fracture healing or non-union formation are multifactorial. Mechanical factors are well known to influence the process of fracture healing. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the biological conditions that have to be achieved for adequate bone healing. Treatment of non-unions is still demanding and we have only poor options to stimulate the bone healing process. Therefore, it is important to optimise the biological conditions to avoid non-union formation. Beside patient-related factors, pharmacological drugs are able to impede or stimulate fracture healing. Especially geriatric patients show a pre-existing drug medication due to different co-morbidities. However, also younger patients are frequently treated with different drugs for infection prophylaxis, analgesia or thrombosis prophylaxis. The aim of the current review article is to give an overview about the influence of different pharmacological agents on the process of fracture healing. A deeper understanding of a drug-related influence on fracture healing could help the medical practitioner to optimise the general conditions for adequate fracture healing, i.e., by avoiding specific pharmacological agents. Vice versa some drugs could be used to stimulate fracture healing in the future. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.