Skip to main content
AAO-HNSF 2023 Annual Meeting & OTO Experience Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Back
Rate ePoster

Head and Neck Surgery

(079) CCI and RAI as Predictors After Head and Neck Reconstruction

Monday, October 2, 2023
2:45 PM – 3:45 PM East Coast USA Time
Has Audio

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Zainab Balogun, MS

    MEDICAL STUDENT
    University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • SD

    Sophia Dang, MD

    Resident
    University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology
    Pittsburgh, PA, USA

  • MS

    Mario G. Solari, MD

    Chief, H&N Reconstruction and Craniofacial Trauma
    University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Department of Plastic Surgery
    Pittsburgh, PA, United States

  • Mark W. Kubik, MD

    Assistant Professory
    Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
    McMurray, Pennsylvania, United States

    • Senior Author(s)

  • Shaum S. Sridharan, MD

    Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology and Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
    Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
    Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Disclosure(s):
Zainab Balogun, MS: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Mark W. Kubik, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.


Introduction: Clinical comorbidities are known to impact surgical outcomes. Several predictive tools are used to determine how patients’ comorbidities may affect postoperative course. In this study, we aimed to determine whether Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) or Risk Assessment Index (RAI) is a better predictor of postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing head and neck free-flap reconstructive surgery.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on all patients who underwent free flap reconstruction between 2016 and 2022. Demographic factors including age, body mass index (BMI), RAI, and CCI scores were collected. Primary outcome was postoperative complications as measured by Clavien-Dindo classification. Independent variables were analyzed in univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results: 357 patients were included for analysis at a mean age of 62.8 years, BMI of 26.8, CCI score of 3.5, and RAI of 24.1. Clavien-Dindo was used to classify postoperative complications from a scale of 0 to 5. Increasing age was associated with increased frailty (p < .001, CI 0.57-0.71) and increased comorbidity (p < .001, CI 0.67-0.76) on univariate analysis. Higher BMI was associated with decreased frailty (p=.02, CI 0.02-0.26). On multivariate analysis, CCI was an independent risk factor for increased postoperative complications (p=0.04, CI 0.005-0.22).

Conclusions: CCI is a better independent predictor of postoperative complications compared to RAI after head and neck free flap reconstruction.