Abstract
BACKGROUND: During the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq most injuries to service members involved the musculoskeletal system. These wounds often occurred around joints, and in some cases result in traumatic arthrotomy-a diagnosis that is not always clear, especially when there is no concomitant articular fracture. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the diagnosis and treatment of peri-articular blast injuries without fracture. METHODS: The study cohort included 12 consecutive patients (12 involved extremities) who sustained peri-articular blast wounds of the extremities without fractures. The diagnosis of penetrating articular injury was based on clinical examination, radiographic findings, or aspiration. A peri-articular wound was defined as any wound, or radio-opaque blast fragment, within 5 cm of a joint. The New Injury Severity Score (NISS) was calculated for each patient. Four patients had upper, and 8 patients had lower extremity injuries. Nine of 12 patients had joint capsular penetration and underwent joint irrigation and debridement. RESULTS: Two patients had retained intra-articular metal fragments. One patient had soft tissue blast wounds within 5 cm of a joint but did not have joint capsule penetration. There were no significant differences (p = 0.23) between the distribution of wounds to upper versus lower extremities. However, there were a significantly greater number of blast injuries attributed to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) than from other blast mechanisms (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Extremity blast injuries in the vicinity of joints involving only soft tissues present a unique challenge in surgical management. A high index of suspicion should be maintained for joint capsular penetration so that intra-articular injuries may be appropriately treated.