LAS VEGAS – Patients with pheochromocytoma are likely to have preoperative comorbidities that predispose them to postoperative cardiopulmonary complications, leading to a longer length of stay and greater hospital charges.
A 5-year national database review found high rates of chronic lung disease and malignant hypertension among these patients, Punam P. Parikh, MD, said at the Association for Academic Surgery/Society of University Surgeons Academic Surgical Congress.
“They are also at an increased risk for vascular injury during surgery, perhaps because these tumors are so vascular in nature, and associated intraoperative blood transfusion,” said Dr. Parikh of the University of Miami. Postoperatively, patients with pheochromocytoma are twice as likely to experience respiratory complications and almost eight times as likely to experience cardiac complications as patients with other hormonally active adrenal tumors.
Dr. Parikh queried the National Inpatient Sample to find patients who underwent adrenalectomy for the rare adrenal tumor from 2006 to 2011. Of 27,312 patients who had adrenalectomy during the 5-year period, 22% had hormonally active adrenal tumors. Of these, just 1.4% (85) were pheochromocytoma. Other hormonally active adrenal tumors were Conn’s syndrome (65%) and Cushing’s syndrome (33%).
A number of comorbidities were significantly more common among pheochromocytoma patients than among those with Conn’s and Cushing’s syndromes, including congestive heart failure (12% vs. 4% in the other syndromes) and malignant hypertension (5% vs. 3% and 0.3%, respectively). A third of pheochromocytoma patients also had diabetes.
The rate of intraoperative complications was significantly higher in these patients (22%) than in those with Conn’s and Cushing’s (11% and 17%). Vascular injury occurred in 6% vs. 2% and 4%, respectively. Almost a quarter of pheochromocytoma patients (21%) needed an intraoperative transfusion, compared with 2% of Conn’s patients and 3% of Cushing’s patients.
There were also more postoperative complications among pheochromocytoma patients than Conn’s or Cushing’s patients, including cardiac (6% vs. 0.4% and 0.6%) and pulmonary complications (17% vs. 6% and 9%).
Not surprisingly, Dr. Parikh said, pheochromocytoma patients had longer hospital stays (5 days), compared with patients with the other tumors (3 days). Hospital charges were also higher for those with pheochromocytoma ($50,000) than those with Conn’s or Cushing’s ($35,500 and $46,334, respectively).
A multivariate analysis concluded that pheochromocytoma was an independent risk factor for intraoperative blood transfusion (odds ratio, 4.2), postoperative cardiac complications (OR, 7.6), and postoperative respiratory complications (OR, 1.9).
Dr. Parikh suggested that patients with pheochromocytoma could benefit from some preoperative preparation.
“Because of these issues, these high-risk patients should undergo appropriate preoperative medical optimization in preparation for their adrenalectomy,” she noted.
She had no financial disclosures.
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