Admission Hyperglycemia Is a Risk Factor for Deep Surgical-Site Infection in Orthopaedic Trauma Patients.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the association of admission blood glucose ≥200 mg/dL and surgical site infection in orthopaedic trauma surgery.

DESIGN

Retrospective, case control study.

SETTING

Academic trauma center.

PATIENTS: Four hundred sixty-five nondiabetic, noncritically ill orthopaedic trauma patients with an extremity, pelvic, or acetabular fracture and requiring open reduction and internal fixation or intramedullary nailing.

INTERVENTION: None.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Ninety-day deep surgical site infection.

RESULTS

Admission blood glucose ≥200 mg/dL was significantly associated with the primary outcome (8/128, 6.3% vs. 35/337, 1.8%; P = 0.01). Multivariable logistic regression modeling demonstrated that admission blood glucose ≥200 mg/dL was a significant risk factor for deep surgical site infections [odds ratio (OR): 4.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4-15.7], after controlling for male gender (OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1-3.1), prior drug or alcohol abuse (OR: 1.9, 95% CI 0.9-4.0), open fracture (OR: 6.4, 95% CI 3.7-11.0), and fracture region (upper extremity OR: reference; pelvis/hip OR: 3.9, 95% CI 1.6-9.7; femur OR: 2.0, 95% CI 0.88-4.8; tibia/ankle OR: 3.3, 95% CI 1.7-6.2; and foot OR: 2.7, 95% CI 1.2-6.3).

CONCLUSIONS

Admission glucose ≥200 mg/dL was a significant independent risk factor for 90-day deep surgical site infections in orthopaedic trauma patients and may serve as an important marker for infection risk.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.