Cohort under study
After the selection process, a cohort of 357 patients was included for study purpose. Median (IQR) BMI in the overall population was 25.0 (22.9-28.1) kg/m2. Median (IQR) VAT area was 150.4 (95.7-212.6) cm2 and, as predictable, was higher in males than in females (183.8 [125.4-251.7] cm2vs. 103.3 [57.5-167.2] cm2; p <0.001). After application of sex-specific cut-offs, 222 patients (62.2%) were classified as VO and 135 patients (37.8%) as non-VO, with no differences in VO incidence between males and females (60.3% vs.64.6%; p = 0.41).
Baseline clinical and pathological characteristics are shown in Table 1. VO patients were older and had higher BMI (p<0.001) and CCI (p=0.01). No relevant differences were found in terms of extent of surgery or staging of malignant disease.
Post-operative outcomes are shown in Table 1. In the overall population, 158 patients (42.3%) developed post-operative complications, and 30 patients (8.4%) suffered a severe complication according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. No differences were found between the VO and non-VO cohorts, as for overall, major grade and infectious complications. Post-operative LoS was also comparable between groups.