In a previous study,1 creatine phosphokinase (CPK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GOT) serum enzyme changes were evaluated during the convalescence period of Vietnam battle casualties in Japan. CPK elevation was more specific than that of LDH or GOT for soft tissue injury of the extremities (95.0%) and highly specific for infection (92.9%). While the CPK value returned to normal faster than LDH or GOT values in patients with soft tissue injury, reevaluation of CPK after initial injury indicated the development of wound infection. This communication presents the efficacy of CPK values as a means of determining the ideal time for delayed primary closure (DPC).
Materials and Methods
A total of forty patients evacuated from Vietnam who had delayed primary closure following wound debridement of their extremities were randomly selected for this study. Wounded patients who had injuries other than extremity soft tissue wounds were excluded from