Open fractures of the upper limb - do the BOAST guidelines need an update?

There is limited high quality evidence available on the management of open upper limb injuries with guidelines built on borrowed principles from the more studied open tibia fractures. What the available evidence does show is that with lower infection rates and a more forgiving soft tissue envelope it may be safe to diverge from the current BOAST guidelines in certain cases. This has relevance in complex fracture patterns requiring specialist input where it is not possible to achieve definitive fixation in 72 h and when there are other life threatening injuries to manage. Despite this early antibiotic administration and debridement within 24 h remains a key component of the early management.