The effectiveness of pin site care for patients with external fixators

Description: Abstract of Heather Williams, Peter Griffiths British Journal of Community Nursing, Vol. 9, Iss. 5, 07 May 2004, pp 206 - 210
The study included two treatment groups, one using 0.9% normal saline and one using 70% alcohol, and a control group which had no cleansing. While the control group had a more favourable outcome than the treatment groups, there is still insufficient evidence from this one study to recommend no cleansing. It is also important to note that the most frequently recommended solution for cleansing pin sites in UK protocols (0.9% normal saline) had the worst outcome, therefore its efficacy in this population may need to be challenged.