ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This study's objective was to conduct a multinational registry of patients with carotid body tumors (CBTs) and to analyze patients' clinical characteristics, treatments, and outcomes. METHODS: Retrospective study from the Carotid Paraganglioma Cooperative International Registry involving eleven medical centers in Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Spain, of all patients with a CBT who underwent resection between 2009 and 2019. RESULTS: A total of 1432 patients with a CBT surgically treated were included. Median patient age was 54 years (range: 45-63 years), and 82.9% (1184) of the study cohort were female. While at low altitude, the proportion of female-to-male cases was 2:1, at high altitude, this proportion increased to 8:1, with statistically significant differences (p = .022). Median operative time was 139 min (range: 110-180 min), while median operative blood loss was 250 ml (range: 100-500 ml), with statistically significant difference in increased blood loss (p = .001) and operative time (p = .001) with a higher Shamblin classification. Eight (0.6%) patients suffered stroke. Univariate analysis analyzing for possible factors associated with increased odds of stroke revealed intraoperative vascular lesion to present an OR of 2.37 [CI 95%; 1.19-4.75] (p = 0.001). In 245 (17.1%), a cranial nerve injury was reported. Seven (0.5%) deaths were recorded. CONCLUSION: The most common CBT type on this cohort was hyperplasic, which might be partially explained by the high altitudes where these patients lived. Increased blood loss and operative time were associated with a higher Shamblin classification, and the risk of stroke was associated with patients presenting transoperative vascular lesions.
