AHN Grove City Hospital and Superior Ambulance have joined forces to participate in a pilot study exploring the rapid use of antibiotics by emergency medical professionals to prevent infections from open, or compound bone fractures. Such fractures are characterized by an open wound or break in the skin near the site of the broken bone, where infections often develop.
As part of the study protocol, EMS providers will administer antibiotics as close as possible to the time of the injury to reduce the risk of infection, optimally within the first hour. The risk of infection increases relative to the amount of time it takes for a a patient to receive an antibiotic; the longer the delay, the higher the risk.