Retrospective Cohort Study of Elective Foot and Ankle Surgeries

A retrospective cohort study was approved by the university scientific review committee and the institutional review board at the hospital system where all procedures were conducted. An electronic health record query identified 1685 patients who underwent outpatient elective surgery with a single fellowship-trained orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon over a four-year period from January 1, 2017, to May 1, 2020. Inclusion criteria consisted of patients of all ages, and any Current Procedural Terminology code, undergoing same-day discharge surgical procedures. Patients who were admitted to the hospital postoperatively for 23-hour observation, inpatient stays, and those who underwent a surgical procedure for a preexisting infection were excluded. All patients received preoperative antibiotics of cefazolin, and if they were allergic to cephalosporins, vancomycin was to be given. Per surgeon preference, no patients received any immediate postoperative antibiotics. In total, 1517 patients met the inclusion criteria (Table 1). The median age was 47 years (interquartile range [IQR], 32 to 59 years). The median body mass index (BMI) was 29.6 kg/m² (IQR, 25.2 to 34.8 kg/m²). Male patients represented 34.1% of the cohort, and female patients represented 65.9%. The median follow-up was 6 months (IQR, 3 to 9 months).