A new study published in Spine examines hospital-acquired infections among patients who undergo surgery for adult spinal deformity.
The study authors examined data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Database from 2010 to 2014. There were 5,819 patients who underwent spinal fusion for deformity correction and researchers examined their 30-day complication rates.
The study authors found:
1. Hospital-acquired conditions appeared in 5.4 percent of the patients.
2. The patients aged 61 years to 70 years old were more likely to develop hospital-acquired conditions than those in younger and older age groups, including those older than 80 years.
3. Patients with an independent functional status were less likely to report hospital-acquired conditions than those with dependent or partially dependent status.
4. The patients who underwent a combined approach were more likely to have hospital-acquired conditions than those who underwent an anterior surgical approach. Patients who had a posterior approach were also more likely to report hospital-acquired conditions than those who had the anterior approach.
5. The patients with reported osteotomies, steroid use and obesity were at higher risk for hospital-acquired conditions.
6. When the operating time was four hours or more, patients were more likely to develop hospital-acquired conditions.