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Published on: June 23, 2020
Surgical Site Infection After Posterior Spinal Fusion for Paediatric Spinal Deformities: A Single-Centre
Dimitrios P Christakos1, Ioannis S Benetos1, Elias Vasiliadis1
13rd Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, KAT Hospital, 14561 Athens, Greece.
Background/Objectives:
Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) are among the most common complications of Posterior Spinal Fusion (PSF) in children and adolescents. The rate of SSIs after PSF varies from 0.9% to 3% for idiopathic scoliosis and can be as high as 8.7% for neuromuscular scoliosis due to cerebral palsy. Major factors associated with SSIs include patient's underlying pathology and comorbidities, the complexity of the procedure, and many extrinsic factors such as the expertise of the surgeon, perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis, length of hospitalisation, and perhaps environmental factors in the operating theatre and the hospital infections rates of the centre at which the procedure is being performed. We sought to identify the overall rate of SSI and possible modifiable risk factors for SSI in children and adolescents treated with PSF in Penteli Children's Hospital.
Methods:
A total of 46 consecutive patients accounting for 67 surgeries performed between 2019 and 2024 were included in this retrospective observational study. Inclusion criteria were as follows: patient's age at the time of surgery less than 22 years, patients treated with PSF only, and more than 9 months postoperative observation. SSI was defined as infection occurring within 90 days of the index procedure.
Results:
The rate of deep SSI in our department was 6.0%. Older age at the time of surgery and a history of previous spine surgery were risk factors for developing an SSI.
Conclusions:
Between 2019 and 2024 four cases of deep SSI occurred in our institution, leading to a rate of 6.0% among all PSF cases for this specific time period. Higher age and a history of previous spine surgery were risk factors for SSI in this cohort of patients.
