Does Administration of Oral Versus Intravenous Antibiotics for Third Molar Removal Have an Effect on the Incidence of Alveolar Osteitis or Postoperative Surgical Site Infections?

PURPOSE: To compare the incidence of postoperative alveolar osteitis (AO) and surgical site infections (SSIs) in 2 separate cohorts of patients undergoing elective third molar removal: those who received postoperative oral (PO) antibiotics and those who received perioperative intravenous (IV) antibiotics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of all patients 14 to 30 years old undergoing elective outpatient third molar removal under a single surgeon's service over a 12-year period was completed. Patients undergoing third molar removal during the first 72 months received postoperative PO antibiotics alone. Patients undergoing third molar removal during the second 72 months received perioperative IV antibiotics alone. The primary predictor variable for the study was the antibiotic regimen used at the time of third molar removal. The primary outcome variable was the postoperative development of AO or SSI. Covariates included age and gender. Univariable and multivariable regression models assessed for associations between the antibiotic regimen used and the presence of AO and SSI. RESULTS: The study sample consisted of 1,895 patients (1,020 patients receiving postoperative PO antibiotics and 875 patients receiving perioperative IV antibiotics). Of patients receiving postoperative PO antibiotics, 6.4% developed AO an average of 5.7 days after the procedure and 2.6% developed an SSI an average of 23.2 days after the procedure. Of patients receiving perioperative IV antibiotics, 5.5% developed AO an average of 6.2 days after the procedure and 3.3% developed an SSI an average of 18.2 days after the procedure. No statistically significant associations between the antibiotic regimen used and the presence of AO or SSI were identified in univariable (P = 0.42 for AO, P = 0.32 for SSI) or multivariable (P = 0.65 for AO, P = 0.26 for SSI) analyses. In the postoperative PO antibiotic cohort, older age (P < .001) and female gender (P < .001) were significantly associated with the development of AO, and female gender (P = .015) was significantly associated with the presence of an SSI. In the perioperative IV antibiotic cohort, female gender was significantly associated with the development of AO (P = .011), and younger age was significantly associated with the presence of an SSI (P = .011). CONCLUSION: The use of a postoperative PO versus a perioperative IV antibiotic regimen does not significantly alter the incidence of AO or SSI after elective third molar removal. If the surgeon chooses to use antibiotics in the setting of third molar surgery, then perioperative IV antibiotics are preferable over postoperative PO antibiotics because they obviate any issues with patient compliance and might be less costly.

Higher perioperative fluid administration is associated with increased rates of complications following head and neck microvascular reconstruction with fibular free flaps.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of perioperative fluid administration on the rates of postoperative complications following head and neck reconstruction with fibular free flaps (FFF). METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of subjects undergoing head and neck reconstruction with FFF was completed. The primary predictor variable was the total volume of perioperative fluids administered on the day of surgery. The primary outcome variable was the presence of medical and surgical complications occurring within 30 days of surgery. Medical and surgical complications were stratified as major or minor based on severity level. Basic demographic information, comorbidity indices, and intraoperative parameters were abstracted as covariates. Univariable and multivariable models were developed to assess for associations between total fluid volume administered on the day of surgery and postoperative medical/surgical complications occurring within 30 days of surgery. RESULTS: In 154 subjects, the partial flap failure rate was 3% and there were no complete flap failures. Total fluid volume was significantly associated with the presence of postoperative medical/surgical complications (OR = 1.21; 95% CI: 1.02-1.44; p = 0.032). A cutpoint for total fluid volume predicting any severity level of postoperative complication was identified at 5,500 mL. A cutpoint for total fluid volume predicting major postoperative complications was identified at 7,000 mL. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that liberal fluid administration is associated with increased rates of medical/surgical complications following head and neck reconstruction with FFF. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microsurgery 37:128-136, 2017.

Application of the Surgical Apgar Score to Microvascular Head and Neck Reconstruction.

PURPOSE: The surgical Apgar score (SAS) is a recently devised risk-stratifying metric that relies on 3 intraoperative parameters to predict postoperative complications in surgical patients. The purpose of this study was to validate the SAS externally in a cohort of patients undergoing microvascular head and neck reconstruction with fibular free flaps. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing head and neck microvascular reconstruction with fibular free flaps was completed. The primary predictor variable was the calculated SAS. The primary outcome variable was the presence of medical and surgical complications occurring within 30 days of surgery. Basic demographic information, comorbidity indices, and perioperative parameters were abstracted as covariates. Medical and surgical complications were categorized as minor or major depending on severity level. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations with 30-day postoperative complications. RESULTS: In 154 patients, the partial flap failure rate was 3% and there were no complete flap failures. There were 110 patients (71%) who developed at least 1 30-day postoperative complication and 51 (33%) who developed a major complication. The median SAS was 7. The SAS was not significantly associated with the presence of any 30-day postoperative complication (odds ratio [OR] = 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74-1.42; P = .89) or the presence of any major postoperative complication (OR = 0.08; 95% CI, 0.59-1.09; P = .16) in a univariable setting. The SAS did not achieve statistical significance after multivariable adjustment. CONCLUSION: Despite validation in numerous other surgical specialties, the SAS might not be useful as a metric for risk stratification among patients undergoing major head and neck reconstruction with fibular free flaps.

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Surgical Risk Calculator Does Not Accurately Predict Risk of 30-Day Complications Among Patients Undergoing Microvascular Head and Neck Reconstruction.

PURPOSE: The American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Surgical Risk Calculator (SRC) is a novel universal risk calculator designed to aid in risk stratification of patients undergoing various types of major surgery. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the ACS NSQIP SRC in predicting postoperative complications in patients undergoing microvascular head and neck reconstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing head and neck microvascular reconstruction with fibular free flaps at a single institution was completed. The NSQIP SRC was used to compute complication risk estimates and length of stay (LOS) estimates for all patients under study. Associations between complication risk estimates generated by the SRC and actual rates of observed complications were evaluated using logistic regression models. Logistic regression models also were used to evaluate the SRC estimates for LOS duration compared with the actual observed LOS after surgery. RESULTS: Of 153 patients under study, 46 (30%) developed a postoperative complication corresponding to those defined by NSQIP SRC. Thirty-eight patients (25%) developed a postoperative complication categorized as severe in the parameters of the NSQIP SRC. None of the SRC complication estimates showed a statistically relevant association with the corresponding observed rates of complications. The mean LOS predicted by the SRC was 8.0 days (median, 7.5 days; interquartile range [IQR], 6.5 to 9; range, 5.0 to 18.5 days). The mean observed LOS for the study group was 9.6 days (median, 7.0 days; IQR, 6 to 9; range, 5 to 67 days). Lin's (Biometrics 45:255, 1989) concordance correlation coefficient to measure agreement between observed and predicted LOS was 0.10, indicating only slight agreement between the 2 values. CONCLUSION: The ACS NSQIP SRC is not a useful risk-stratifying metric for patients undergoing major head and neck reconstruction with microvascular fibular free flaps. The SRC also does not accurately predict hospital LOS for this same patient cohort.