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Published on: October 12, 2014
Evaluating the impact of hemodynamic support measures on head and neck free tissue transfer outcomes: A
Eric V Mastrolonardo1, Joseph S Lu1, Zachary Elliott1
1Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Objectives:
This study sought to analyze the effects of perioperative blood transfusions and vasopressors on 30-day surgical complications and 1-year mortality after reconstructive surgery in head and neck free tissue transfer (FTT) and to identify predictors of administration of perioperative blood transfusions or vasopressors.
Materials And Methods:
TriNetX (TriNetX LLC, Cambridge, USA), an international population-level electronic health record database, was queried to identify subjects that underwent FTT requiring perioperative (intraoperative to postoperative day 7) vasopressors or blood transfusions. Primary dependent variables were 30-day surgical complications and 1-year mortality. Propensity score matching was used to control for population differences, and covariate analysis was used to identify preoperative comorbidities associated with perioperative vasopressor or transfusion requirements.
Results:
7,631 patients met inclusion criteria. Preoperative malnutrition was associated with increased odds of perioperative transfusion (p = 0.002) and vasopressor requirement (p < 0.001). Perioperative blood transfusion (n = 941) was associated with increased odds of any surgical complication (p = 0.041) within 30 days postoperatively and specifically increased odds of wound dehiscence (p = 0.008) and FTT failure (p = 0.002), respectively. Perioperative vasopressor was (n = 197) was not associated with 30-day surgical complications. Vasopressor requirement was associated with increased hazards-ratio of mortality at 1-year (p = 0.0031).
Conclusion:
Perioperative blood transfusion in FTT is associated with increased odds for surgical complications. Judicious use as a hemodynamic support measure should be considered. Perioperative vasopressor use was associated with an increased risk of one-year mortality. Malnutrition is a modifiable risk factor for perioperative transfusion and vasopressor requirement. These data warrant further investigation to assess causation and potential opportunity for practice improvement.
