Topical Vancomycin for Neurosurgery Wound Prophylaxis

Summary

This study is a collaboration between New York Presbyterian (NYP)-Columbia and NYP-Cornell that seeks to evaluate the use of topical vancomycin and its reduction on surgical site infection (SSI) in neurosurgical procedures. Adult patients undergoing neurosurgery at either institution will be eligible for participation in this randomized control trial. Patients randomized to the treatment group will receive 2g of vancomycin applied as a powder or paste to the wound site and/or bone flap. Subjects in the control group will receive the current standard of care without topical vancomycin. All subjects will undergo swabbing of the anterior nares and the surgical site prior to surgery, once 10-14 days following the operation and 90 days following the operation. The primary outcome measure will be surgical site infection, assessed daily throughout the hospital stay, at the first follow-up visit, and by telephone at 14-30 days and 90 days (+/- 7 days). Secondary outcomes will include length of hospital stay, length of intensive care stay, rate of reoperation and patient mortality. In addition, systemic vancomycin levels will be assessed at 6 hours and 20 hours postoperatively in each patient. Patients who have an external ventricular drain in place will have vancomycin levels assessed daily. In patients who have cranial drains placed, vancomycin concentrations will be analyzed from daily in wound drainage. Skin and nasal flora will be analyzed to assess the impact of topical vancomycin on the patient microbiome. Although there has been a decrease in the incidence of infections following craniotomy secondary to prophylactic intravenous antibiotics, proper sterile techniques, and other interventions, SSIs continue to significantly impact morbidity, mortality, and cost burden. Although never studied in neurosurgical procedures other than instrumented spine, the application of topical vancomycin to the surgical site prior to wound closure has demonstrated a reduction in SSIs in spine, cardiac and ophthalmologic procedures. The benefits of using prophylactic vancomycin topically, as opposed to intravenously, include reduced systemic levels of the drug, and therefore, a decreased probability of adverse events related to the drug, such as inducing resistance among the native flora. The investigators propose a single-blinded randomized control trial to evaluate the effectiveness of topical vancomycin in reducing SSIs rates following neurosurgical procedures.

Conditions

• Infection
• Surgery
• Nervous System Diseases

Interventions

DRUG

Vancomycin

Topically applied powder and paste to surgical site at time of closure.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

  collaborator FED

• Cornell University

  collaborator OTHER

• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  collaborator OTHER

• Columbia University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• E. Sander Connolly, M.D. · Columbia University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-10-31

Primary Completion

2019-11-30

Completion

2020-11-30

FDA Drug

Yes

Countries

• United States

Study Locations