in a single institution. Exclusion criteria were as follows : preceding the spine surgery in the previous 2 weeks, preexisting or postoperative infection, being less than 18 years of age, and being discharged less than 5 days after the spinal surgery. Clinical data relevant to the study included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), BT, site and type of surgery, and surgery duration.All patients received a preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis with a first generation cephalosporin, cefazolin, and also postoperative antibiotics were injected through their fourth postoperative day. All patients were operated under general anesthesia and received daily clinical examinations until discharge.
INTRODUCTIONDespite advances in prophylaxis, the incidence of deep infection after instrumented spinal surgery remains between 0.4% and 4.3% 14,16,19) and may be higher in patients undergoing fusion after spinal trauma 26) . Although infection can be a disabling complication of any surgical procedure, spinal infection can be particularly devastating due to the close proximity of the neurological structures. Early detection of an infection may prevent substantial problem later.It is often difficult to diagnose postoperative spinal infection before clinical symptoms become apparent. Magnetic resonance imaging can help to diagnose the soft-tissue change but is expensive to use as a screening tool and may not be available. Although inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell count (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and body temperature (BT), easily are measured, their specificities are not high.In a recent meta-analysis, procalcitonin (PCT) was superior to Objective : Classical markers of infection cannot differentiate reliably between inflammation and infection after neurosurgery. This study investigated the dynamics of serum procalcitonin (PCT) in patients who had elective spine surgeries without complications. Methods : Participants were 103 patients (47 women, 56 men) who underwent elective spinal surgery. Clinical variables relevant to the study included age, sex, medical history, body mass index (BMI), site and type of surgery, and surgery duration. Clinical and laboratory data were body temperature, white blood cell count (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and PCT, all measured preoperatively and postoperatively on days 1, 3, and 5. Results : PCT concentrations remained at <0.25 ng/mL during the postoperative course except in 2 patients. PCT concentrations did not correlate with age, sex, DM, hypertension, BMI, operation time, operation site, or use of instrumentation. In contrast, CRP concentrations were significantly higher with older age, male, DM, hypertension, longer operation time, cervical operation, and use of instrumentation. Conclusion : PCT may be useful in the diagnosing neurosurgical patients with postoperative fever of unknown origin.