Single-use instrumentation can decrease surgical site infection and surgery time
Safe Orthopaedics, a French company developing a range of sterile implants and single-use surgical instruments, has announced a positive conclusion from a prospective bi-centric study to investigate whether single-use instrumentation in posterior lumbar fusion could decrease incidence of surgical site infection (SSI).
More than 40,000 patients suffer from SSI after spinal surgery every year. In addition to the clinical impact for the patient, economic consequences of SSIs are significant as they prolong a patient’s stay by an average of two weeks, double the chance to be re-hospitalised and increase the total cost by 300 per cent.
The results of the study, published in the European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology, showed a potential reduction in SSI from 6 per cent to 2 per cent – only one infection was observed in a 60-year-old man with previous spine surgery and two additional risk factors. The encouraging results were attributed to a reduction in exposure to air-borne bacteria in the operating room, thanks to “the preservation of screws and rods inside their sterile pack”. The study showed additional benefits with a significant reduction of surgery time by 12 per cent (15 min) and minimal blood loss which could also participate in the reduction of SSI.
Yves Vignancour, Safe Orthopaedics’ CEO, said: “This publication confirms the results of the recent retrospective clinical study conducted by Gregory Lanford in Nashville. He also reported a potential reduction in infection rate when using our breakthrough single-use surgical instruments for lumbar fusion.”
The study was a joint colaboration between researchers at the universities of Bordeaux and Nice and the Centre for Health Management at Imperial College London. Between January and September 2013, a total of 49 patients received an instrumented posterior lumbar fusion for degenerative disc disease at one to four levels with Safe Orthopaedics’ single-use SteriSpine PS Pedicle Screw System kits in two centres. The patients were followed up and monitored for one year and results have been compared with a previous series for the same indication operated by the same surgeons with reusable instrumentation.
Reference: Litrico, S., Recanati, G., Gennari, A., et al. (2015) Single-use instrumentation in posterior lumbar fusion could decrease incidence of surgical site infection: a prospective bi-centric study. Eur. J. Orthop. Surg. Traumatol. Sept 1.
