Previous spine surgery a strong predictor of deep infection after lumbar fusion

[ajj1001]

http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.asp?rID=44180

Previous spine surgery a strong predictor of deep infection after lumbar fusion

A study found that infection risk is also increased after lengthy surgeries and in patients who smoke.

By Susan M. Rapp
ORTHOPAEDICS TODAY EUROPE 2009; 12:11

Patients who underwent lumbar spinal fusion surgery had nearly a three times greater risk of developing deep surgical-site infections if they had previous surgery in the same area, Dutch researchers concluded from a case-controlled analysis.

“Our main finding is that previous surgery was associated with the higher risk for the appearance of an infection. The length of surgery in minutes was also an independent risk factor. More complex surgery resulted in an increase for the infection rates,” Janneke J.P. Schimmel, MSc, said at the 36th Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine in Miami.

Investigators at Sint Maartenskliniek in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, studied 1,454 patients who underwent 1,501 lumbar fusions there between January 1999 and December 2007. They identified patient, surgical and postoperative factors related to the occurrence of a deep infection.

[Justin]

Thanks for posting this Alison!