Prevalence of postoperative complications in oncologic gastro-esophageal surgeries: a cross-sectional study

TL;DR

This study found that nearly 88% of patients had complications after gastro-esophageal cancer surgeries, with infections being most common.

Contribution

The study reports a high complication rate and identifies hypoalbuminemia as a significant risk factor in this patient population.

Findings

88.3% of patients experienced postoperative complications.

Infections were the most common type of complication.

Hypoalbuminemia was significantly associated with complications (OR = 8.60).

Abstract

This study evaluated the prevalence of complications in the postoperative period of esophagogastric oncological surgeries.

We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study, adhering to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. The study size implied 163 patients who underwent surgical treatment for esophageal and gastric cancer and experienced postoperative complications between January 2018 and December 2022. These patients were treated at the Liga Norte Riograndense Contra o Câncer, a high-complexity oncology center and a reference for cancer treatment in Northeast Brazil.

The prevalence found was 88.3%. The most prevalent complications were Clavien-Dindo I and II, and infection was the most common. According to our statistics analysis, hypoalbuminemia showed a positive correspondence with the occurrence of postoperative complications (odds ratio = 8.60; 95% confidence interval 1.35–54.64, p = 0.0358).

Postoperative complications of gastroesophageal surgeries increase patient morbidity and mortality.

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