Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
-
Significant numbers of patients with spinal tuberculosis (TB), especially in developing countries, still present late after disease onset with severe neurological deficits. The authors conducted a study to assess the outcome in these patients. ⋯ A significant proportion of patients with spinal TB and severe motor deficits experience remarkable improvement after surgical decompression and hence should undergo surgery even though they may be suffering from paraplegia of considerable duration.
-
Antimicrobial prophylaxis (AMP) reduces the rate of surgical site infection (SSI) in lumbar spine surgery, but a great deal of variation exists regarding the timing and duration of AMP. The authors had previously used prophylactic antibiotics for 5 to 7 postoperative days. Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guideline, the AMP period was changed to the day of surgery only. In the current study, the authors compared the rate of SSI in lumbar spine surgeries between two different protocols of AMP. ⋯ Data in the current study did not demonstrate a difference in the rate of SSI between the two different AMP protocols. Based on the CDC guideline, a single dose of AMP was proven to be efficacious for the prevention of SSI in lumbar spine surgeries. A shorter duration of first-generation cephalosporin use may effectively prevent the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection.