Early surgical site infections in adult spinal trauma: A prospective, multicentre study of infection rates and risk factors

SummaryIntroductionSpine surgery is known to have a high risk of surgical site infection (SSI). Multiple studies have looked into the risk factors and incidence of SSI during elective surgery, but only two retrospective studies have specifically evaluated SSI during surgery following spine trauma.Materials and methodsThis work was based on a prospective cohort study that included all the patients operated on for spinal trauma at 13 French hospitals over a three-month period. The main endpoint was the occurrence of a SSI during the three-month period. Patients with multiple trauma or open fractures were excluded from the study.ResultsOf the 169 patients re-examined after a minimum of three months, six had had an acute SSI (3.55%). The following factors were significantly related to a SSI: age, ASA score, diabetes, procedure duration, delay elapsed between accident and procedure, number of levels fused, bleeding and prolonged presence of urinary catheter.DiscussionOur results were consistent with the published infection rates of 2 to 10%. The risk factors identified have all been described in previous studies on elective spine surgery.Level of evidenceLevel IV, prospective cohort study.