The 10 major risk factors for postoperative infection after cubital tunnel release

Only 13 percent of postoperative infections after isolated cubital tunnel release required surgical debridement, according to a case-control study in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine.

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Here are three things to know.

1. The researchers identified all Medicare-insured patients undergoing ulnar nerve decompression at the cubital tunnel from 2010 through 2012. There were 330 identified postoperative infections in 15,188 cases, or 2.17 percent overall.

2. The majority — 87 percent — were managed nonoperatively.

3. The most significant risk factors for infection include:

  • Hemodialysis use
  • Chronic anemia
  • Age over 65 years
  • Tobacco use
  • Morbid obesity
  • Inflammatory arthritis
  • Depression
  • Hyperlipidemia
  • Male sex
  • Chronic lung disease

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