To analyze the clinical difference of neurosurgical site infection between HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected patients.

A retrospective analysis was performed on HIV infected patients (HIV-infected group, n=34) and non HIV infected patients (non-HIV-infected group, n=43) who underwent surgical treatment in Neurosurgery Department of The Second Hospital of Nanjing from May 2019 to January 2022. Perioperative indexes of the HIV-infected group and the non-HIV-infected group were compared and analyzed, and the HIV-infected group was further divided into the intraoperative infected group and the intraoperative non-infected group, and the perioperative related indexes of the two groups were compared.

The infection rate in the surgical site of the HIV-infected group was higher than that of the non-HIV-infected group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in preoperative hemoglobin, preoperative white blood cell count, postoperative white blood cell count, body mass index, and antibiotic use between the HIV-infected group and the non-HIV-infected group (P<0.05). In the HIV-infection group, there were 6 cases of surgical infection and 28 cases of non-surgical infection, there was a statistically significant difference in CD4⁺T cell count, albumin count, and antibiotic use among patients (P<0.05).

The incidence of surgical site infection in neurosurgery is higher in HIV-infected patients than in non-HIV-infected patients. The incidence of site infection can be effectively reduced by increasing the CD4⁺ T cell count and albumin content in HIV-infected patients and strengthening the use of antibiotics in perioperative period.