Social Determinants of Health Impact Complications Following Free-Flap Reconstruction for Head and Neck Cancer.
Publication/Presentation Date
1-1-2025
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Head and neck cancers (HNCs) have increased in prevalence and often require free-flap reconstruction (FFR) after tumor ablation. Postoperative complications following FFR can be high, occurring in as many as 48% and 71% of cases. HNC patients also have many disparities in Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), but the potential impact of SDOH disparities on postoperative complications following FFR has not been formally assessed.
STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort review.
SETTING: Academic Tertiary Care Institution in Northeast United States.
METHODS: Patients that underwent head and neck FFR between January 2018 and December 2021 were analyzed to determine associations between quartiles of the national Area Deprivation Index (ADI), a proxy for SDOH disparity, and various medical and surgical postoperative complications. Associations were assessed using χ
RESULTS: Two hundred four patients were included in the study, and 61 patients had 97 complications. Significant associations between higher national ADI quartile and incidence of several postoperative complications were identified, including any surgical complication (P = .0419), wound dehiscence (P = .0494), myocardial infarction (MI) (P = .0215), and sepsis (P = .0464).
CONCLUSION: There are significant associations between SDOH disparities and postoperative surgical complications, wound dehiscence, MI, and sepsis following head and neck FFR. Addressing SDOH disparities in HNC is pivotal to enhance postoperative outcomes and promote holistic patient care.
Volume
172
Issue
1
First Page
91
Last Page
99
ISSN
1097-6817
Published In/Presented At
Goldberg, Z. N., Jain, A., Wu, R., Cognetti, D. M., & Goldman, R. A. (2025). Social Determinants of Health Impact Complications Following Free-Flap Reconstruction for Head and Neck Cancer. Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 172(1), 91–99. https://doi.org/10.1002/ohn.953
Disciplines
Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
PubMedID
39189141
Department(s)
Administration and Leadership
Document Type
Article