RF 9 - THE IMPACT OF OBESITY ON EARLY COMPLICATIONS FOLLOWING TRACHEOSTOMY: AN EVALUATION OF A NATIONWIDE REGISTRY

Objectives: To evaluate the association between obesity and early complications following tracheostomy using a nationwide registry.

Methods: Adult patients who underwent tracheostomy from 2007 to 2017 were analyzed using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS). The population was stratified into obese and non-obese groups. Early complications following tracheostomy were identified and compared between the two groups. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between obesity and early complications following tracheostomy.

Results: Data pertaining to 205,032 adult patients were evaluated. Obese patients accounted for 12.1% (n=21,816) of the entire cohort. The most common complication in the cohort was perioperative bleeding [4316(2.1%)] A total of 1382(0.67%), 949(0.46%) and 134(0.07%) patients developed pneumothorax, surgical site infection and tracheal injury following tracheostomy respectively. In multivariable analyses there was no difference in the odds of developing perioperative bleeding [OR=1.03(0.93-1.13), p=0.61], pneumothorax [OR=0.91(0.76-1.09), p=0.32], and tracheal injury [OR= 0.7(0.33-1.49), p=0.36] following tracheostomy in the obese and non-obese group. However, obesity was associated with 66 % increased odds of developing surgical site infection following tracheostomy. [OR 1.66 (1.33-1.92), p< 0.01]

Conclusion: Obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing surgical site infection following tracheostomy. This adds to the growing need for measures to help curb the obesity epidemic in a bid to improve surgical outcomes.