Prevention of post-operative infections in spine surgery by wound irrigation with a solution of povidone-iodine and hydrogen peroxide.
BACKGROUND
Starting from January 2009, we systematically irrigated the surgical wounds of patients undergoing spine surgery with a solution of povidone-iodine (PVP-I) and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)).


METHODS
We prospectively recorded the clinical data of patients who underwent spine surgery during 2009 and we compared the results with retrospectively reviewed clinical records of patients operated during 2008. Patients were analyzed for preoperative risk factors, type of surgical procedure, onset of the infection, clinical presentation, treatment, and outcome. We performed 460 spine surgeries during 2008 and 490 during 2009.


RESULTS
We recorded seven post-operative infections in 2008 compared to none in 2009.


CONCLUSIONS
We consider the solution of PVP-I plus H(2)O(2) effective in further reducing the rate of post-operative infection in spine surgery.
Department of Neurosurgery, Santa Maria alle Scotte Hospital, Siena, Italy. simone.ulivieri@email.it
Simone
S
Ulivieri
Stefano
S
Toninelli
Carlo
C
Petrini
Antonio
A
Giorgio
Giuseppe
G
Oliveri
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017586:Diskectomy; D005592:Fracture Fixation; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019999:Pharmaceutical Solutions; D011206:Povidone-Iodine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013131:Spine / Q000601:surgery*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D019999:Pharmaceutical Solutions; D011206:Povidone-Iodine; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide