Management and Prevention of Postoperative Spine Infections

Document Type : Original Article

Author

The Department of Radiology Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University1, Department of Neuropsychiatric Consultant, Psychiatric, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University2, Intern Doctor, Department of Medicine, Bahçeşehir University, Turkey, Istanbul3 and Medical Doctor, King Fahad Hospital Department of Internal Medicine, Saudi Arabia, Madinah4

Abstract

Background: The intrinsic benefits of various instrumenta-tion systems involve rapid spine stabilization. Aim of Study: To identify the cases and operations that correlated with a heightened probability of infections of deep wounds and to assess the effectiveness of the institution’s cur-rent therapy protocol in eliminating these infections. Patients and Methods: This retrospective research com-menced with the assessment of hospital and office medical records, a computerized database, and charts from twenty con-secutively managed cases who had surgical spinal instrumenta-tion operations. The research has been conducted at Al-Azhar University from June 2022 to June 2024. Results: The mean RF score of the studied group was 2.21±0.9. The mean number of days from operation to clinical presentation was 27.6±6.3, the mean temperature on admission was 37.5±4.2, the mean maximum temperature during hospi-tal stay was 37.7±4.6, the mean of WBCs was 10.2±2.3, and the mean of ESR was 57.4±5.8. As regards wound culture, 16 (80%) of patients were positive. Mean of additional days spent in hospital was 16.6±3.1. The infection was superficial and deep in 16 (80%) of patients. The most common cause of in-fection was Staphylococcus aureus (55%), followed by mixed organisms (30%), and equal percentages (5%) were Streptococ-cus sp., Proteus mirabilis, and no organism identified. Conclusion: Wound infections are a significant complica-tion of spinal operations, with Staphylococcus aureus being the most common cause. Infections were superficial and deep in 80% of patients, while 20% had superficial infections.

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