A new study published in Spinal Deformity examines whether the type of metal instrumentation used in pediatric scoliosis correction affects surgical site infection.
The study authors examined 874 patients who underwent 1,156 procedures between Jan. 1, 2006 and Dec. 31, 2008. The procedures took place at one of three large children’s hospitals and included at least one year follow-up. The researchers found:
1. The breakdown of metals used in the procedures was:
• Stainless steel instrumentation: 65 percent
• Titanium instrumentation: 21 percent
• Cobalt Chrome and titanium hybrid instrumentation: 14 percent
2. The overall infection risk per procedure was 6.1 percent.
3. The titanium implants had the highest risk of surgical site infection, with 6.7 percent of the patients developing SSI. The cobalt chrome patient group wasn’t far behind, with 6 percent reporting SSI. Only 5.9 percent of the stainless steel group developed SSI.
4. There wasn’t a significant difference in the metal type used between patients with and without infections when adjusting for etiology, instrumentation to pelvis and procedure type.
5. The multiple regression analysis didn’t find a significant difference in SSI between the metal groups when stratified based on etiology.