Prevalence of osteoradionecrosis in head and neck irradiated patients and associated factors

Objective To assess the association between the prevalence of osteoradionecrosis (ORN) and the time elapsed since the end of head and neck radiotherapy, as well as to assess whether or not there was a difference in the prevalence of ORN related to dental extractions performed before or after radiotherapy. Study Design This cross-sectional observational study evaluated patients who had head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, were treated with 3D conformal radiotherapy, and had completed treatment at least 3 months before data collection from the patients’ medical records. Results The sample consisted of 90 patients, with a mean age of 62.33 (±9.70) years, who had tumors in the mouth/oropharynx (60.00%), larynx (34.44%), or hypopharynx (5.56%), most at advanced stages (69.66%). Patients received a mean radiation dose of 62.99 (±9.74) Gy. The prevalence of ORN was 4.44% and the mean time elapsed since the end of radiotherapy was significantly higher in patients who had ORN (59.75±19.74 months), compared to patients who did not have ORN (34.47±37.91 months) (p=0.036). An association was found between the higher prevalence of ORN and extractions performed after radiotherapy (p=0.005). Conclusion ORN was associated with a longer elapsed time after radiotherapy and with extractions performed after radiotherapy. To assess the association between the prevalence of osteoradionecrosis (ORN) and the time elapsed since the end of head and neck radiotherapy, as well as to assess whether or not there was a difference in the prevalence of ORN related to dental extractions performed before or after radiotherapy. This cross-sectional observational study evaluated patients who had head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, were treated with 3D conformal radiotherapy, and had completed treatment at least 3 months before data collection from the patients’ medical records. The sample consisted of 90 patients, with a mean age of 62.33 (±9.70) years, who had tumors in the mouth/oropharynx (60.00%), larynx (34.44%), or hypopharynx (5.56%), most at advanced stages (69.66%). Patients received a mean radiation dose of 62.99 (±9.74) Gy. The prevalence of ORN was 4.44% and the mean time elapsed since the end of radiotherapy was significantly higher in patients who had ORN (59.75±19.74 months), compared to patients who did not have ORN (34.47±37.91 months) (p=0.036). An association was found between the higher prevalence of ORN and extractions performed after radiotherapy (p=0.005). ORN was associated with a longer elapsed time after radiotherapy and with extractions performed after radiotherapy.