Mini Review 
JRPMS, Vol 2, No 2, June 2018, p.46-52Prevention of orthopaedic infection in spine surgeryEffrosyni Koutsoumpeli, Nikolaos KoutsoumpelisKeywords: Prevention, Spine surgery, Surgical site infectionAbstractSurgical site infection (SSI) in spine surgery is a complication that increases not only the time of patient-recovery and the mortality but also the duration of hospitalization and subsequently the total hospital costs. The objective of this review is to identify the preventable risk factors, to reduce SSI in spine surgery. There are several factors that are associated with an increased risk of postoperative SSI. Some of them are associated with the health status of patient (ASA score >2, diabetes, obesity, smoking, urinary tract infection or incontinence, hypertension), while others with the surgical procedure (hand and instrument antisepsis, revision surgery, invasiveness, CSF leak, dural tear, blood loss, transfusion) and the compliance of the patient. Preoperative patient optimization and perioperative strategies can minimize the risk of SSI. Understanding the pathogenesis is essential to develop prevention strategies and improve surgical outcomes.
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