Background A severity grading system for liver surgery-specific complications, given the acronym FABIB, has been standardized to increase the feasibility and comparability of academic reports in liver surgery. Whether the FABIB score is associated with long-term survival following major hepatectomy has not been previously investigated.
Methods 297 consecutive patients who had undergone major hepatectomy between 2012 and 2019 were recruited. The postoperative complications were documented according to the FABIB system and, for comparison purposes, Clavien-Dindo classification. Their influence on 90-day mortality and long-term survival was analyzed retrospectively.
Results Taking the relevant confounders into account, the FABIB score was a robust factor associated with long-term survival after major hepatectomy: patients with high FABIB scores (≥6) had a 2.415-fold higher risk of death compared to patients with low FABIB scores (≤2) (P = 0.002). In contrast to that, the Clavien-Dindo Classification (grade III + IV vs. grade I + II) was not associated with survival in our cohort (P = 0.873).
Conclusion Liver surgery-specific complications, measured by the FABIB system, impact long-term survival after major hepatectomy independent of relevant confounders. We propose the FABIB score as a composite endpoint for randomized controlled trials and a quality assessment tool in liver surgery.
Background A severity grading system for liver surgery-specific complications, given the acronym FABIB, has been standardized to increase the feasibility and comparability of academic reports in liver surgery. Whether the FABIB score is associated with long-term survival following major hepatectomy has not been previously investigated.
Methods 297 consecutive patients who had undergone major hepatectomy between 2012 and 2019 were recruited. The postoperative complications were documented according to the FABIB system and, for comparison purposes, Clavien-Dindo classification. Their influence on 90-day mortality and long-term survival was analyzed retrospectively.
Results Taking the relevant confounders into account, the FABIB score was a robust factor associated with long-term survival after major hepatectomy: patients with high FABIB scores (≥6) had a 2.415-fold higher risk of death compared to patients with low FABIB scores (≤2) (P = 0.002). In contrast to that, the Clavien-Dindo Classification (grade III + IV vs. grade I + II) was not associated with survival in our cohort (P = 0.873).
Conclusion Liver surgery-specific complications, measured by the FABIB system, impact long-term survival after major hepatectomy independent of relevant confounders. We propose the FABIB score as a composite endpoint for randomized controlled trials and a quality assessment tool in liver surgery.