Table 1.
Baseline and characteristics of the included studies
| Author, year | Country | Study design | Sample size | Age, mean (SD) | Male, N (%) | Site of cancer | Type of the flap | Tracheostomy, patients (%) | Follow-up period in days Mean (SD) |
Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guidera (2013) [14] | New Zealand | Retrospective cohort | 54 | 60.92 (21.07) | Mandible, maxilla, buccal mucosa, floor of mouth, hard palate, retromolar trigone, anterior 2/3rd of the tongue | Ulnar forearm, radial forearm, DCIA, and others | 48 (88.9%) patients | 14.72 (7.50)a | Early oral feeding is associated with shorter hospital stay and can improve postoperative outcome | |
| Kerawala (2021) [23] | UK | Prospective cohort | 400 | 62.15 (12.81) | 228 (57%) | Fibula, DCIA, scapular donor sites, radial forearm free flap, anterolateral thigh flap | 52 (13%) patients | 16.1 (35.01)a | Early oral feeding is associated with shorter hospital stay and does not increase risk of perioperative complications | |
| Stramiello (2021) [24] | United States | Retrospective cohort | 104 | 62.29 (13.66) | 68 (65.3%) | Site of H&N mucosal surgical defect:oral cavity, pharynx, larynx | Fibula, anterolateral thigh, osteocutaneous radial forearm free flap, fasciocutaneous radial forearm free flap | 90 | Early feeding does not increase risk of fistula and can improve swallowing function earlier | |
| Le (2022) [25] | United States | Retrospective cohort | 415 | 58.88 (14.18) | 253 (61%) | Mandible, maxilla, tongue, buccal mucosa, floor of mouth | Radial forearm, osteocutaneous radial forearm, fibula, anterolateral thigh, DCIA | 338 (81.4%) | 761.53 (541.99) | Early oral feeding is safe and is associated with a decreased length of hospitalization |
| Wu (2022) [26] | China | Randomized controlled trial | 128 | 51.5 (14.22) | 76 (59.4%) |
Buccal, maxilla Mandible, tongue, mouth floor, palate, roof of the tongue |
Radial forearm, fibula, anterolateral femur, iliac crest | 64 (50%) | 30 | Early oral feeding does not increase incidence of postoperative complications, and it is associated with minimizing pharyngeal pain and reduced hospital stay |
aFollow-up period is the length of hospital stay
Abbreviations: N number, SD Standard deviation, DCIA Deep circumflex iliac artery