Vitamin D deficiency tied to fistula development after reconstructive head and neck surgery: Study

Written By : Medha Baranwal |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2021-08-25T09:00:42+05:30 | Updated On 25 Aug 2021 9:01 AM IST

USA: Patients with vitamin D deficiency are more likely to develop fistula following major head and neck surgery, a recent study in journal The Laryngoscope has revealed.

Vitamin D deficiency is a commonly observed health problem in the world and has been associated with many chronic diseases. The importance of vitamin D deficiency in anesthesia management is increased. Considering this John Symms, University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A., and colleagues aimed to investigate the association of vitamin D level and perioperative complications in patients undergoing major head and neck surgery in a retrospective cohort study.

The researchers performed a retrospective chart review for all patients undergoing reconstructive head and neck surgery between December 2017 and December 2019. Data regarding serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (calcidiol) level, patient demographics, hospital course, prior radiation, and fistula formation were collected.

Patients with vitamin D levels <20 ng/mL were considered deficient and ≧20 ng/mL were considered sufficient and outcomes were compared between the groups.

Fifty-seven patients were included in the analysis. The average age at the time of surgery was 62.6 ± 10.6 years.

The research yielded the following findings:

Individuals in the deficient group (n = 29) had a mean serum calcidiol level of 13.95 ± 3.95 ng/mL, whereas those in the sufficient group (n = 28) had a mean calcidiol level of 28.53 ± 5.73 ng/mL.
The rate of fistula was 41.4% in the deficient group, whereas patients in the sufficient group had a rate of fistula of 14.3%.
On multivariate analysis, higher serum calcidiol level above 20 ng/mL was associated with a lower likelihood of developing fistulae with an odds ratio 0.830.

"Our findings revealed that vitamin D deficiency may play a role in the development of fistula after major head and neck surgery," concluded the authors.

Reference:

The study titled, "Association of Perioperative Complications with Vitamin D Levels in Major Head and Neck Surgery," is published in The Laryngoscope.

DOI: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lary.29776

The Laryngoscopehead and neck surgeryvitamin Dfistula

Source : The Laryngoscope

Medha Baranwal

MSc. Biotechnology

Medha Baranwal joined Medical Dialogues as an Editor in 2018 for Speciality Medical Dialogues. She covers several medical specialties including Cardiac Sciences, Dentistry, Diabetes and Endo, Diagnostics, ENT, Gastroenterology, Neurosciences, and Radiology. She has completed her Bachelors in Biomedical Sciences from DU and then pursued Masters in Biotechnology from Amity University. She has a working experience of 5 years in the field of medical research writing, scientific writing, content writing, and content management. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751