Abstract
Objectives: Obesity is a documented comorbidity that is prevalent in the elderly population and a known predictor for surgical site infection (SSI). Body mass index is a convenient method to classify obesity, but it fails to account for fat distribution. The objective of our study was to evaluate the association between surgical site infection and a subcutaneous radiographic measurement (SRM) in elderly hip fracture patients.Materials and Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted to compare SRMs at the hip in patients diagnosed with surgical site infection after hip fracture surgery with patients that were not diagnosed with surgical site infection. Each case was matched to two controls. An SRM was defined as the distance from the tip of the greater trochanter to the skin following a perpendicular line to the femoral diaphysis in anteroposterior hip radiographs. Clinical diagnosis of acute surgical site infection was based on Tsukayama criteria.Results: Patients with an SRM greater than 6.27cm had a 7-fold increase in the odds of surgical site infection (OR=7.42, 95% Confidence Interval (CI)=3.01-18.28, p<0.001) compared to those with smaller measurements. The odds ratio (OR) for infection of patients with an ASA score of 3 was 15.82(95% CI=5.11-48.9, p-value<0.001)A statistically significant difference between cases and controls was also found when SRM at the hip was analyzed as a continuous variable. Patients with an infection had a 2.24cm (95% CI=1.59 - 2.90; p<0.001) greater mean SRM.Conclusion: Results of our study suggest an association between the SRM at the hip and the risk of SSI in elderly patients with surgically treated hip fractures. SRM may be a helpful tool for evaluating the risk of SSI in elderly hip fracture patients.
Highlights
Surgical site infections (SSIs) in orthopedic trauma account for 11% of all nosocomial infections in elderly patients [1]
Results of our study suggest an association between the subcutaneous radiographic measurement (SRM) at the hip and the risk of surgical site infection (SSI) in elderly patients with surgically treated hip fractures
SRM may be a helpful tool for evaluating the risk of SSI in elderly hip fracture patients
Summary
Surgical site infections (SSIs) in orthopedic trauma account for 11% of all nosocomial infections in elderly patients [1]. Diagnosis and treatment of SSIs have an important economic impact on healthcare systems and are known to have adverse effects on outcomes for patients. Documented co-morbidities that are prevalent in the elderly population and are known predictors of surgical site infections include diabetes, http://www.jbji.net immunosuppression, renal or hepatic diseases, age, alcohol or tobacco use, vascular insufficiency, and obesity [2,3,4,5,6,7]. Possible explanations associating obesity and infection suggest that local and systemic deposition of antibiotic prophylaxis may be altered in obese patients. Reduced tissue penetration of antibiotics in obese patients could jeopardize optimal minimal inhibitory concentration during surgery, potentially increasing the risk of surgical site infection [11,12]. Other explanations include technical difficulties for surgeons, decreased blood flow and oxygen tension, increased operating times and comorbidities related to obesity [13,14]
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