The purpose of this study is to study how well using a powdered form of the antibiotic,
vancomycin, inside the surgery wound prevents infection in patients undergoing instrumented
spinal surgery for traumatic injury to the back.
Vancomycin is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating
certain kinds of bacteria. It is also used to prevent infections of the surgery site.
This will be a study in which the experimental treatment is compared to a standard (control)
treatment. It will be prospective in nature, meaning that it will follow patients forward in
time, and it will consist of a randomization process to determine who will receive the
experimental treatment versus the standard (control) treatment.
The study will take place at Regional Medical Center (The MED). 140 subjects will be
participating in this study.
The investigators hypothesize that the topical use of powder vancomycin will decrease the
rate of surgical site infection.