OBJECTIVE

To quantify postoperative venous thromboembolism (VTE) incidence in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients, and assess the economic implications of chemoprophylaxis.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective cost-effective analysis.

SETTING

Fifty-three health care organizations.

METHODS

The TriNetX Research Network was queried to identify the 1-month VTE rate in HNC patients undergoing neck dissection from 2012 to 2022. A literature search provided additional postsurgical VTE rates in HNC patients. Costs of prophylactic heparin and enoxaparin were obtained from a drug wholesaler, and VTE-associated medical costs were sourced from the literature. A break-even analysis determined the absolute risk reduction (ARR) in the VTE rate necessary for a medication to break-even on cost.

RESULTS

In TriNetX, 8193 HNC surgical patients underwent neck dissection, and an additional 1640 patients underwent neck dissection plus free flap reconstruction without chemoprophylaxis. Respective 1-month VTE rates were 1.3% (n = 103) and 2.5% (n = 41). Four additional studies of 1546 postoperative HNC patients not prescribed chemoprophylaxis reported a mean VTE rate of 3.8% (n = 59), ranging from 1.9% to 13.0%. At $8.40 per week, heparin resulted in cost savings if it decreased the VTE rate by an ARR of at least 0.05%, while enoxaparin, at $23.66 per week, needed to achieve a 0.14% ARR. Considering potential added costs from bleeding complications, heparin, and enoxaparin remained cost-effective if chemoprophylaxis did not increase bleeding complications by an absolute risk of more than 2.86% and 2.79%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Postoperative VTE rates varied in HNC patients. Despite this, achievable ARRs suggested the potential cost-effectiveness of routine chemoprophylaxis with heparin and enoxaparin.