Post-Operative Infections in Spine Procedures: A Brief Review

Abstract

Background and Aim: Surgical site infection is an important complication after spinal surgery. Prevention and treatment of this complication requires more and reliable information. In this article, we investigated the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of post-operative infection in spine procedures by reviewing previous related studies. Methods and Materials/Patients: In this paper, original articles available in PubMed and Scopus published between 1991 and 2017 were reviewed and studied. Results: Organisms resistant to antibiotics have increased and made treatment harder, especially in patients with instrumentation of spine. The frequency of surgical site infection depends on surgical technique, anatomical location, and duration of surgery. Conclusion: Prevention is the best way to reduce the frequency of post-spinal surgical infection. Excessive use of antibiotics increases the risk of infection with bacteria resistant to treatment.

Use of antibiotic-impregnated beads in the treatment of lumbosacral surgical site infection: A retrospective case series

“…1,2 These are challenging scenarios, and the long-term outcome is generally disappointing as a significant proportion of patients have been reported to suffer from chronic pain, unsatisfactory functional outcome (in 27e60% of patients) and compromised quality of life. 3,4 The staged technique of debridement with antiobioticimpregnated spacer insertion, followed by revision implantation has been a well-known practice for peri-prosthetic infections of the knees and hips. 5e7 Nevertheless, in spinal SSIs, the role of such an approach has not been well-documented.…”