Frequency of Surgical Site Infection in Response to Single Dose Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Excision

Objective: To measure the frequency of infection with single dose antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery for intervertebral disc prolapse.Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Neurosurgery, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad for ten months. In total 400 patients both male and female, undergoing surgery for lumbar disc herniation (single level lumbar intervertebral disc), meeting inclusion criteria, were selected for the study. Postoperative frequency of surgical site infection was measured using redness, pain, raised local temperature and wound discharge as diagnostic criteria. Postoperative surgical site infection was measured using the above criteria scale on 3rd postoperative day and 15th postoperative day. The frequency of infection in the studied patients on day 3 and day 15 was calculated. P-value of <0.05 5 was considered as statistically significant.Results: Out of total 400 patients, 290 were males and 110 were females, the age distribution was from 24 to 70 years. Mean age was 48.2± 10.8 SD. ESR for the patients ranged from 2 to 36 with a mean of 11±4.6. White cell count of the patients ranged from 2900 to 20100 with a mean of 7342±2100. Only 7 patients (1.7%) developed infection on third day of surgery and it persisted in only 4 patients (1%) till day 15 of surgery.Conclusion: Single dose preoperative antibiotic is effective in postoperative wound infection prophylaxis. This protocol if followed can prevent drug resistance and multiple doses related side effects and can cut hospital cost