Intrawound application of vancomycin can prevent instrument-related surgical site infection after internal spinal fixation, according to a study in Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management.
Here are three things to know:
1. Researchers reviewed 27 studies involving 17,321 patients. Among those patients, 7,423 were treated with vancomycin to prevent SSI.
2. Among patients who underwent internal fixation, vancomycin application significantly reduced postoperative SSI incidence.
3. Vancomycin did not affect SSI incidence in patients who did not receive internal fixation or who underwent deformity correction.