• Jin Seong Kim, In Sung Park, Sung Kwon Kim, Hyun Park, Dong-Ho Kang, Chul-Hee Lee, Soo-Hyun Hwang, Jin-Myung Jung, and Jong-Woo Han.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju, Korea.
• Korean J Neurotrauma. 2015 Oct 1; 11 (2): 100-5.

ObjectiveThe risk factors for surgical site infections (SSIs) after cranioplasty following decompressive craniectomy remain unclear. The goal of this study was to analyze the risk factors related to developing SSIs after cranioplasty and to suggest valuable predictors.MethodsA retrospective review was conducted of patients who underwent cranioplasty following decompressive craniectomy at our institution from January 2011 to December 2014, a total of 78 patients who underwent 78 cranioplasties. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to determine possible risk factors related to developing SSIs. We analyzed both patient-specific and surgery-specific factors.ResultsThe overall rate of SSIs was 9.0% (7/78). SSIs after cranioplasty were significantly related to being female, having the primary etiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and having had a bilateral cranioplasty in the univariate analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that being female [odds ratio (OR) 5.98, p=0.000] and having had a bilateral cranioplasty (OR 4.00, p=0.001) significantly increased the risk of SSIs.ConclusionBased on our data, cranioplasty following decompressive craniectomy is associated with a high incidence of SSI. Being female, having a primary etiology of TBI and having had a bilateral cranioplasty may be risk factors for surgical site infections after cranioplasty.

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