Perioperative complications among head and neck surgery patients with COVID-19

Ann M Martin; Zachary T Elliott; Paul Chisolm; Jason Crossley; Jessica H Maxwell; Matthew Pierce; Jonathan Giurintano

doi:10.1002/hed.27531

Perioperative complications among head and neck surgery patients with COVID-19

Head Neck. 2023 Dec;45(12):3033-3041. doi: 10.1002/hed.27531. Epub 2023 Oct 6.

Authors

Ann M Martin¹, Zachary T Elliott², Paul Chisolm³, Jason Crossley³, Jessica H Maxwell^{3

4}, Matthew Pierce³, Jonathan Giurintano³

Affiliations

¹ Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
² University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
³ Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
⁴ Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.

PMID: 37802658
DOI: 10.1002/hed.27531

Abstract

Background: Patients undergoing surgery for head and neck cancer (HNC) have potentially high perioperative complication rates. Recent studies indicate that preoperative COVID-19 infection poses increased risk for postoperative complications in other fields. However, to date, there has not been data showing the effect of COVID-19 on complication rates for HNC. Here, a large database was employed to assess if perioperative COVID-19 increased the risk of perioperative complications among those undergoing HNC surgery.

Methods: A retrospective investigation was conducted using a multi-institutional research database. Subjects who underwent HNC surgery from January 2020 to September 2022 were identified using the International Classification of Diseases and Current Procedure Terminology codes. Thirty-day surgical and medical complications were assessed for those diagnosed with COVID-19 infection from 7 days before or after surgery compared to those who were COVID-19 negative. Cohorts were propensity scores matched by age, sex, and race.

Results: Perioperative COVID-19 was present in n = 208 and absent in n = 15 158 subjects that underwent HNC surgery. For unmatched analyses, there was a statistically significant increased risk in the 30-day postoperative period in COVID-19-positive patients for the following surgical complications: surgical site fistula, free tissue transfer (FTT) complication, FTT failure, and death. Additionally, there was a statistically significant increased risk in the 30-day postoperative period in COVID-19-positive patients for the following medical complications: ventilator support, pneumonia, vasopressor, acute renal failure, and myocardial infarction.

Conclusion: This large, retrospective populational study suggests HNC patients are at increased risk for death and several perioperative complications. This investigation is the first to address this clinical question.

Keywords: COVID-19; head and neck cancer; perioperative complications; perioperative mortality; surgical complications.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Head and Neck Neoplasms* / complications
Head and Neck Neoplasms* / surgery
Humans
Multicenter Studies as Topic
Myocardial Infarction* / etiology
Postoperative Complications / epidemiology
Postoperative Complications / etiology
Retrospective Studies