This 2008 JAAOS review by Sasso and Garrido synthesizes the epidemiology, risk factors, diagnostic approach, classification, and surgical management of postoperative spinal wound infections — asking how procedure type, host factors, and organism virulence should shape both prevention and treatment strategy.
When a post-spine-surgery patient has increasing wound pain — even with a well-healed incision — check CRP first (normalizes by 2 weeks) rather than relying on ESR or WBC, and use the Thalgott group/class to guide how many débridements to plan and how aggressively to optimize nutrition and host defenses before closure.
This 2008 JAAOS review by Sasso and Garrido synthesizes the epidemiology, risk factors, diagnostic approach, classification, and surgical management of postoperative spinal wound infections — asking how procedure type, host factors, and organism virulence should shape both prevention and treatment strategy.
When a post-spine-surgery patient has increasing wound pain — even with a well-healed incision — check CRP first (normalizes by 2 weeks) rather than relying on ESR or WBC, and use the Thalgott group/class to guide how many débridements to plan and how aggressively to optimize nutrition and host defenses before closure.