Skip to main content
AAO-HNSF 2025 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Rate ePoster
Video

Comprehensive Otolaryngology

(A215) Effect of Frailty, Marital Status, and Sex on outcomes after Otolaryngology surgery

Monday, October 13, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Carine Tamamian, BS

    Medical Student
    UCSD School of Medicine
    La Jolla, California, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • DD

    Desiree Delavary, Other

    Medical Student
    A. T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Arizona, United States

  • LE

    Lauran K. Evans, MD, MPH

    Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, Los Angeles, United States

    • Senior Author(s)

  • Dinesh K. Chhetri, MD

    Physician
    UCLA Med Ctr
    Los Angeles, California, United States

Disclosure(s):
Carine Tamamian, BS: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Dinesh K. Chhetri, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.


Introduction: The Risk Analysis Index (RAI) is a frailty assessment tool used to predict postoperative outcomes, yet the impact of sex on RAI scores remains underexplored. This study examines how sex and marital status affect preoperative frailty assessment, and provides insight into the psychosocial determinants of surgical outcomes across sexes in otolaryngology.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients undergoing Otolaryngology surgery from 2022-2024 at a quaternary care center who had an RAI score available. Frail status was categorized as RAI ≥30. Statistical analyses were performed using Chi-square and t-tests.

Results: 1542 patients were included; 810 male, 732 female. 1196 were classified as non-frail (RAI < 30) and 348 as frail (RAI≥30). In males, 82.4% of those who had complications were frail compared to non-frail (OR = 3.88, 95% CI [2.65-5.68], p< 0.0001). In females, 77% of patients with complications were frail compared to non-frail (OR = 4.25, 95% CI [2.72-6.63], p< 0.0001). Among frail males, 18.1% reported a current committed partnership (married, life partner, or domestic partner), while 32.6% were not in a committed relationship (single, divorced, or widowed). Males in partnerships had twice the odds of being frail when compared to single males (OR = 2.19, 95% CI [1.53-3.13], p< 0.0001). This dichotomy of partnerships correlating with frailty was not observed among females (OR = 1.40, 95% CI [0.95-2.07], p=0.0874). Mean length of stay (LOS) for non-frail and frail males was 0.50 days and 1.78 days respectively (t ratio= 5.97, 95% CI [0.85-1.70], p< 0.0001), and for females 0.41 days and 2.44 days respectively (t= 5.64, 95% CI [1.32-2.76], p< 0.0001).

Conclusions: Marital status was associated with frailty, with frail males more likely to have a committed partner. No significant relationship was found between frailty and partnership status in female patients. Frailty was a predictor of LOS outcomes in both sexes, with frail females having longer LOS on average. These findings suggest that partnership status, sex differences, and caregiving dynamics may influence risk assessment and surgery recovery.