This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Infection risk for titanium rib incisions affected by frequency of reopening
The risk of infection related to prosthetic titanium rib incisions did not increase based on the location of the incisions, but rather as a result of the number of times they were reopened, according to a recent study.
Sumeet Garg, MD, and colleagues retrospectively reviewed a prospective database and institutional database study of 103 patients who underwent treatment for chest and spine deformity with the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib (VEPTR, DePuy Synthes Spine). Patients included in the study had a minimum of four expansion procedures.
Twenty-five of the 103 patients (24%) developed infections, and six patients developed more than one infection, the researchers found. The most common infection was Staphylococcus aureus, which was present in 59% of the infections.
There were no significant differences seen in infection rates between the various incision locations, according to the researchers.
Infections occurred among patients in whom the same incision was opened an average of three times. Additionally, the infection rate increased with the number of times a particular incision was opened, Garg and colleagues found.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.
Collapse
Garg S. Spine. 2014. doi:10.1097/BRS.0000000000000343.