What Is a Surgical Site Infection After Carpal Tunnel Release?

Purpose Considerable variation exists in the literature on published rates of surgical site infection (SSI) after carpal tunnel release, ranging over 20-fold, from 0.28% to 6.4%. The reason for this variability is unknown. Methods A retrospective review was conducted on 748 open carpal tunnel releases performed under wide-awake local anesthetic no tourniquet in an in-office fi ce procedure room. The following three different definitions fi nitions of infection were used for analysis: definition fi nition A: prescription of an oral antibiotic; Definition fi nition B: SSI definition fi nition by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Definition fi nition C: infection that required reoperation. Results Infection rate by definition fi nition A was 8.9% (67/748), by definition fi nition B was 2.3% (17/748), and by definition fi nition C was 0.4% (3/748), resulting in a 22-fold range. Conclusions The infection rate after carpal tunnel release is heavily influenced fl uenced by the definition fi nition of SSI. The definition fi nition of SSI needs to be considered when making comparisons, either in research or quality assurance/quality improvement applications. Clinical relevance When analyzing SSI rates, the exact definition fi nition of infection must be ascertained to accurately compare an individual's ' s practice or institutional data to the literature. (J Hand Surg Am. 2024;49(8):766-771.- 771. Copyright (c) 2024 by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. All rights reserved.)