Preoperative Epidural Steroid Injection Does Not Increase Infection Risk Following Posterior Cervical Surgery

Retrospective cohort study.

The purpose of this study was to characterize the infection risk of preoperative epidural steroid injection (ESI) in patients undergoing posterior cervical surgery.

ESI is a helpful tool for alleviating pain and is often used as a diagnostic tool before cervical surgery. However, a recent small-scale study found that ESI before cervical fusion was associated with an increased risk of postoperative infection.

Patients from 2010 to 2020 with cervical myelopathy, spondylosis, and radiculopathy who underwent posterior cervical procedure including laminectomy, laminoforaminotomy, fusion, or laminoplasty were queried from the PearlDiver database. Patients who underwent revision or fusion above C2 or who had a diagnosis of neoplasm, trauma, or preexisting infection were excluded. Patients were divided on whether they received an ESI within 30 days before the procedure and subsequently matched by age, sex, and preoperative comorbidities. The χ 2 analysis was used to calculate the risk of postoperative infection within 90 days. Logistic regression controlling for age, sex, Elixhauser Comorbidity Index, and operated levels was conducted within the unmatched population to assess infection risk for injected patients across procedure subgroups.

Overall, 299,417 patients were identified with 3897 having received a preoperative ESI and 295,520 who did not. Matching resulted in 975 in the injected group and 1929 in the control group. There was no significant difference in postoperative infection rate in those who received an ESI within 30 days preoperatively and those who did not (3.28% vs. 3.78%, odds ratio=0.86, 95% CI: 0.57-1.32, P =0.494). Logistic regression accounting for age, sex, Elixhauser Comorbidity Index, and levels operated demonstrated that injection did not significantly increase infection risk in any of the procedure subgroups.

The present study found no association between preoperative ESI within 30 days before surgery and postoperative infection in patients undergoing posterior cervical surgery.