The researchers examined four groups of patients in the United States’ Nationwide Inpatient Sample for 2000 to 2011. There were 1.2 million patients in the NIS database that met criteria and 5,540 patients from the institutional database. The researchers found:
1. There was a 0.73 percent SSI incidence rate among the NIS patients and 1.75 percent among the institutional database, collected from 2000 to 2013.
2. The SSI incidence increased from 0.52 percent in the first group and 1.97 percent in the fourth group for the NIS data. Among the institutional database, the SSI incidence increased 0.88 percent to 5.54 percent.
3. The researchers were able to predict SSI significantly by the patient status and trauma in the NIS data. Among the institutional database patients, only trauma was associated with SSI.
4. The predictors of SSI include the number of levels fused, female gender, black race, medium size hospital, rural hospital, large hospital, western United States hospital and Medicare coverage.
5. The researchers concluded, “Both primary diagnosis (trauma vs. degenerative) and neurological status (MP or SCI) were found to be strong and independent predictors of SSI in cervical spine surgery.”
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