We have located links that may give you full text access.
Delayed infections following posterior spinal instrumentation for the treatment of idiopathic scoliosis.
Ten patients who had been managed with posterior spinal arthrodesis and Texas Scottish Rite Hospital instrumentation because of idiopathic scoliosis had a delayed deep wound infection at an average of twenty-five months after the operation. The signs of infection included spontaneous drainage in eight patients and fluctuance in two patients. In addition, six patients--including five of the eight who had drainage--had mild pain in the back. The average erythrocyte sedimentation rate was thirty-nine millimeters per hour (range, nineteen to eighty-one millimeters per hour). The instrumentation was removed from all of the patients. In two patients, a pseudarthrosis that had not been noted on preoperative radiographs was noted intraoperatively; in both patients, the pseudarthrosis occurred at a level at which two hooks had been placed in one intervertebral space. Primary closure was performed in seven patients, and delayed primary closure was performed on the third postoperative day in three patients. All wounds healed uneventfully. Cultures of specimens taken from deep within the wound were positive for Propionibacterium acnes (five patients), Staphylococcus epidermidis (two patients), a rare coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species (one patient), or Micrococcus varians (one patient). No organisms grew on culture of the specimen obtained from the remaining patient. Propionibacterium acnes required an extended period of incubation before identification. Antibiotics were administered parenterally to all of the patients after the removal of the hardware, and this treatment was followed by oral administration of antibiotics for nine of the patients. We suspect--but can not prove--that several of the delayed infections resulted from intraoperative seeding and remained subclinical for an extended period of time.
Full text links
Related Resources
Trending Papers
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: diagnosis, risk assessment, and treatment.Clinical Research in Cardiology : Official Journal of the German Cardiac Society 2024 April 12
Proximal versus distal diuretics in congestive heart failure.Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation 2024 Februrary 30
World Health Organization and International Consensus Classification of eosinophilic disorders: 2024 update on diagnosis, risk stratification, and management.American Journal of Hematology 2024 March 30
Efficacy and safety of pharmacotherapy in chronic insomnia: A review of clinical guidelines and case reports.Mental Health Clinician 2023 October
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app
All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.
By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
Your Privacy Choices
You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app