Absorbable Antibiotic Beads to Treat Severe Wounds, Draining Tracts, and Sepsis in 37 Horses

Introduction: The use of local antibiotics improves resolution of infection in wounds when there is heavy contamination, severe tissue trauma, and compromise to the local blood supplement. The use of absorbable antibiotic beads is a cost effective and invaluable in cases where repeated daily access to the site is not feasible and a regional limb perfusion cannot be performed.

Materials and Methods: Inclusion criteria was all cases treated with absorbable antibiotic impregnated beads in combination with traditional therapy by the authors since April of 2021. Injuries treated were categorized by lacerations, draining tracts, or hematogenous spread. Involvement of synovial structures, osseous changes, or associated with a foot was also noted. Statistics were descriptive due to low case number.

RESULTS: Thirty of 37 cases (81%) resolved infection and (67%) returned to performance. Eighteen of these 22 (82%) cases with synovial involvement resolved their infection and (68%) returned to performance. Only 2/5 (40%) cases with draining tracts of the feet resolved infection and only 1 (20%) returned to performance.

Discussion/Conclusion: No complications were associated with the use of antibiotic impregnated beads in combination with traditional therapy. This was an inexpensive means of delivering local antibiotics to a site of infection and allowing for prolonged elution of antibiotics to the site. It could also be used when regional limb perfusion and direct injection of antibiotics was not possible.

Acknowledgments: The authors have no outside financial interests to disclose.

Publication History

Article published online:
11 September 2023