Association between blood transfusions and complications in head and neck reconstruction: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose: The aim of this meta-analysis is to assess the correlation between blood transfusions and the medical/surgical complications after head and neck reconstructive surgery. Methods: The PRISMA protocol was used and the literature search was performed on Pubmed, Scopus, Cochrane Library and Web of Science up to March 13, 2020. The risk of bias in individual studies was assessed through the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. Results: A total of 1219 records were screened after the electronic search, 22 of which were included in the qualitative analysis. Of there 22 scores, 18 articles were included in the meta-analysis. The OR for medical and surgical complications of transfused patients was 1,64 (95% CI 1.23–2.21); while, the OR for hospital readmission was 1.53 (95% CI 1.29–1.81). Conclusions: The results of this meta-analysis suggested that blood transfusions are associated with both an increased risk of surgical and medical complications of head and neck flaps and with the hospital readmission.