Rosenthal NA, et al. - Via this retrospective cohort study of 294 patients with any Staphylococcus aureus infection (151 had an invasive infection) and 12,918 with no infection, researchers investigated hospital resource use and costs related to S. aureus infection within 180 days post elective posterior instrumented spinal fusion surgeries (index surgery) between 2010 and 2015. From 129 U.S. hospitals in Premier Healthcare Database, hospital discharge and microbiology data were analyzed. Outcomes suggest significantly higher hospitalization cost, length of stay, and 180-day risk of readmission for cases who report S. aureus infections post elective posterior instrumented spinal fusion surgeries than those with no such infection. They recommend reducing such infections to lower the costs and hospital resource utilization.