OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of intradiscal gentamicin in preventing postoperative discitis in lumbar spine surgery. STUDY DESIGN: An observational study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Neurosurgery, Lady Reading Hospital Medical Teaching Institution, Peshawar, Pakistan, from January 2018 to April 2023. METHODOLOGY: Data were retrieved and analysed for patients who underwent open microdiscectomy of the lumbar spine performed by a single surgeon between January 2018 and April 2023. Cases operated until December 2020 did not receive intradiscal gentamicin and were grouped as non-gentamicin (NG), while those operated afterwards were grouped as gentamicin (G). Inclusion and exclusion criteria were strictly applied to reduce potential bias. RESULTS: A total of 295 patients underwent surgery. The NG group comprised 165 patients, and the G group 130 patients. There were 151 males (51%) and 144 females (49%), with ages ranging from 20 to 67 years (mean age: 43.4 years). L4-L5 was the most commonly affected level (59%), followed by L5-S1 (38%). The NG group showed a discitis frequency of 6.6% (11/165), whereas the G group had a significantly lower rate of 1.5% (2/130, p = 0.033). CONCLUSION: Intradiscal gentamicin may be effective in reducing the incidence of postoperative discitis following open microdiscectomy. KEY WORDS: Discitis, Infection, Gentamicin, Efficacy, Local antibiotics.
Khan et al. (Mon,) studied this question.