Incidence of Postoperative Delirium in Cancer Patients After Head and Neck Surgery: A Proportional Meta‐analysis

Objective To summarize the incidence of postoperative delirium among cancer patients undergoing head and neck surgery and determine the differential incidence rates among patients undergoing different types of head and neck surgeries. Data Sources The databases of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMBASE, and CINAHL were searched from inception till February 2023. Keywords based on the condition (delirium), context (postoperative), and population (head and neck cancer) were used as search terms. Review Methods The PRISMA and MOOSE reporting guidelines were followed. The Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklists for cohort studies, case‐control studies, and randomized controlled trials were used to evaluate the methodological quality. Data were pooled using a random‐effects model, and the incidence with 95% confidence intervals was evaluated using the exact binomial method and Freeman‐Tukey double arcsine transformation of proportions. I2 was used to indicate heterogeneity. Predefined subgroup analysis and Meta‐regression, was performed to identify the factors affecting heterogeneity. Results The summary incidence of postoperative delirium was 18.95% [95% confidence interval, 14.36%‐24.00%] with between‐study heterogeneity (I2 = 95.46%). The incidence of postoperative delirium in patients who underwent free flap reconstruction was 22.13%, which was higher than those of other types of surgeries. Meta‐regression revealed that conducted in sample size (P = .007) of the included studies was the factors affecting heterogeneity. Conclusions The evidence on postoperative delirium incidence provided by the current Meta‐analysis enables effective treatment planning.