To Assess Use of Vancomycin Powder in Craniotomy on Wound Infection Rates
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2022-05-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Surgical site infection (SSI) after craniotomy is a major cause of morbidity and mortality
besides its major health care cost. In each hospital, all measures are taken to decrease SSI.
Despite current prophylactic measures, rates of SSIs have been reported in up to 5% of
patients post craniotomy. Intrawound vancomycin powder has been studied extensively in spinal
fusion surgeries and been found to reduce rates of surgical site infections (SSIs)
significantly. Despite its success in spinal surgeries, topical vancomycin has not been
extensively studied with respect to cranial neurosurgery.
The use of adjuvant vancomycin powder was associated with a significant reduction in the
incidence of postoperative infection as well as infection-related medical costs. These
findings suggest that the use of adjuvant vancomycin powder in high-risk patients undergoing
spinal fusion is a cost-saving option for preventing postoperative infections, as it can lead
to cost-savings of $438,165 per 100 spinal fusions performed.
The investigators believe that Topical vancomycin is a safe, effective, and cost-saving
measure to prevent SSIs following craniotomy.