Resident Physician University of Washington Seattle, Washington, United States
Introduction: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a postsurgical complication that can potentially lead to significant morbidity and frequently to additional surgical intervention. Amongst patients undergoing intrathecal baclofen pump placement, rates have been reported from 3-40%. We aim to describe the changes in surgical infection after the addition of the TYRX™ Absorbable Antibacterial Envelope (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN) to all of our pediatric patients.
Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of all pediatric patients undergoing intrathecal baclofen pump placement from September 2017 to March 2022 with at least 3 months of follow-up. The primary endpoint included surgical site infection and secondary outcomes included reoperation, inpatient events, and need for subsequent invasive procedure or revision surgery.
Results: A total of 84 patients were included in the study, 27 males (65.5%) and 29 females (34.5%) with a median age of 152.1 months. During the 3 month follow-up period, there was no evidence of surgical site infections in the TYRX group. There was a 2.3% decreased risk (absolute risk reduction) of a surgical site infection amongst our cohort in comparison to our previous cohort (without the TYRXTM). The number needed to treat to prevent one surgical site infection was calculated to be 43 patients.
Conclusion : Implementation of the TYRX™ Absorbable Antibacterial Envelope (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN) is safe, and has resulted in a decreased incidence of 90-day surgical site infections.
