Surgical infections are a rare occurrence in Australia, but there are certain factors that can make patients more at risk. Patients who have diabetes, and uncontrolled diabetes, are more likely to develop a surgical site infection than those without diabetes, or those with controlled diabetes.[1]
The HbA1c blood test measures how much glucose is present in your blood, and is a good indicator of diabetic control.[2] A 2014 study by Hikata et al. discovered that patients with an HbA1c score of 7.0% or lower were much less likely to develop a postoperative infection than patients with a score greater than 7.0%.[1]
If you have diabetes, speak with your family doctor, physiotherapist and exercise physiologist to develop a plan to decrease your risk of infection with surgery.
[1] Hikata, T, Iwanami, A, Hosogane, N, Watanabe, K, Ishii, K, Nakamura, M, Kamata, M, Toyama, Y, Matsumoto, M 2014, ‘High preoperative hemoglobin A1c is a risk factor for surgical site infection after posterior thoracic and lumbar spinal instrumentation surgery’, Journal of Orthopaedic Science, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 223-8.
[2] Healthdirect, HbA1c test, Healthdirect, viewed 14 August 2020, <https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/hba1c-test>.
