Venous Thromboembolism Incidence After Craniofacial Surgery

Area of Science:

• Medical research
• Surgical outcomes
• Vascular health

Background:

• Current venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis protocols after craniofacial surgery (CFS) lack standardization.
• Evidence-based guidelines require data on VTE incidence, associated comorbidities, and prophylaxis efficacy/complications.
• This study focuses on VTE incidence and risk factors post-CFS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the incidence of postoperative VTE in patients undergoing craniofacial surgery.
• To identify demographic and comorbidity-related risk factors for VTE after CFS.
• To analyze the impact of VTE on hospital stay, cost, and patient outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cross-sectional study utilizing discharge data from 64,170 patients undergoing CFS (2008-2013).
• Data extracted from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample.
• Outcome measures included deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), demographics, comorbidities, length of stay, cost, and discharge outcome.

Main Results:

• VTE (DVT or PE) occurred in 0.55% of CFS patients, compared to 1.17% in other surgeries.
• Risk factors for VTE included male sex, adulthood, advanced age, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and malignancy (ORs ranging from 1.80 to 9.93).
• VTE patients had significantly longer hospital stays (23.8 vs 5.2 days), higher costs (US $298,228 vs $72,376), and a 54.6% increased likelihood of poor discharge outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Postoperative VTE risk after CFS is elevated in adults with advanced age, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and malignancy.
• Despite increased risk in certain groups, overall VTE incidence post-CFS remains relatively low.
• Further studies comparing chemoprophylaxis with mechanical prophylaxis are needed to guide routine VTE prevention strategies.