RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Effects of Operating Room Size on Surgical Site Infection Following Lumbar Fusion Surgery JF International Journal of Spine Surgery JO Int J Spine Surg FD International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery SP 6057 DO 10.14444/6057 A1 Salmons, Harold I. A1 Lendner, Mayan A1 Divi, Srikanth N. A1 Dworkin, Myles A1 McKenzie, James A1 Tarazona, Daniel A1 Gala, Zachary A1 Lendner, Yovel A1 Woods, Barrett A1 Kaye, David A1 Savage, Jason A1 Kepler, Christopher A1 Kurd, Mark A1 Hsu, Victor A1 Radcliff, Kris A1 Rihn, Jeff A1 Anderson, Greg A1 Hilibrand, Alan A1 Vaccaro, Alex A1 Schroeder, Gregory YR 2019 UL https://www.ijssurgery.com/content/early/2019/10/23/6057.abstract AB Background Surgical site infections (SSIs) represent a devastating complication after spine surgery. Many factors have been identified, but the influence of operating room (OR) size on infection rate has not been assessed. Methods Two thousand five hundred and twenty-three patients who underwent open lumbar spine fusion at a single institution between 2010 and 2016 were included. Patients were dichotomized into large versus small groups based on OR volume. Bivariate logistic regression and a final multivariate model following a multicollinearity check were used to calculate odds of infection for all variables.Results A total of 63 patients (2.5%) developed SSIs with 46 (73%) in the larger OR group and 17 (27%) in the smaller OR group. The rate of SSIs in larger ORs was 3.02% compared with 1.81% in smaller ORs. Significant parameters impacting SSI in bivariate analysis included an earlier year of surgery, BMI > 30, more comorbidities, more levels decompressed and fused, smoking, and larger OR volumes. Multivariate analysis identified BMI > 30, Elixhauser scores, smoking, and increasing levels decompressed as significant predictors. Topical vancomycin was found to significantly decrease rate of infection in both analyses.Conclusions OR size (large versus small) was ultimately not a significant predictor of infection related to rates of SSIs, although it did show a clinical trend toward significance, suggesting association. Future prospective analysis is warranted.Level of Evidence 3.