The Effect of Intrawound Vancomycin Powder in Spine Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

Potential participants will be identified at the clinic, emergency department, or on the floor by history, clinical examination, and positive imaging findings. The surgeon will notify the study coordinator of the potential patient. The study coordinator will introduce the trial to the patient and obtain informed consent at the office during the clinic visit or his hospital stay. Patient's pre-operative data such as demographics (age and sex), presence of comorbidities like diabetes, ischemic heart disease, asthma patients on steroids, nutrition status using serum albumin level, and previous posterior spine surgical procedures at the operative level will be collected once the patient admitted prior to the procedure. The study coordinator will enroll the patient into the trial, and provide the appropriate intervention (vancomycin application, or no application) using the closed envelope technique of randomization to the neurosurgeon performing the procedure. Patients will also be blinded to avoid the placebo effect. All patients will receive the standard systemic antibiotic prophylaxis. The duration of the procedure, estimated blood loss, type of the procedure (instrumented versus non-instrumented) and the number of levels will be recorded. After the intervention, wound infections will be monitored during a follow-up period of 12 weeks from the date of surgery. Cultured organisms and subsequent treatments will be recorded. The primary outcome is the incidence of infection (either in-patient or in the follow-up). The secondary outcome is the development of other complications including Vancomycin related.