Surprise positive culture rate in the treatment of presumed aseptic long-bone nonunion: a systematic review with meta-analysis of 2397 patients.

These results suggest that surprise positive cultures play a role in the clinical course of a nonunion and that culturing is important in determining the etiology of nonunion, even if the pre-operative suspicion for infection is low. High healing rates can be achieved in presumed aseptic nonunions, regardless of the definitive intraoperative culture result.