Singla A, et al. - In patients (65 years of age and older) who were treated with lumbar spine fusion, researchers determined the impact of chronic steroid use and chronic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection on rates of surgical site infection (SSI) and mortality. In order to identify 360,005 patients over 65 years of age who had undergone lumbar spine fusion, the PearlDiver insurance database (2005–2012) was queried. Those with chronic oral glucocorticoids and those with a history of chronic MRSA infection have been identified from these patients. Investigators found that, after lumbar spine fusion, patients over the age of 65 with chronic oral steroids or a history of chronic MRSA infection were at a significantly higher risk of SSI.