Carotid Blowout Syndrome in Head and Neck Cancer Patients: Management of Patients At Risk for CBS

Objectives: Carotid blowout syndrome (CBS) is an acute, rare life-threatening hemorrhage that occurs in patients with a history of head and neck cancer and radiation therapy. The primary objective of this review was to identify risk factors and assess treatment and survival outcomes following CBS. Methods: A systematic review of published literature was performed. Information including risk factors, treatment, and outcomes of CBS were collected. Results: A total of 49 articles and 2220 patients were included in the systematic review. Risk factors for developing CBS included a history of radiation therapy, wound complications, and advanced tumor stage. The initial management of CBS included establishing a stable airway, gaining hemostasis, and repletion of blood loss. Endovascular and surgical procedures treat CBS with infrequent rates of rebleeding and periprocedural complications. Short-term survival following treatment of CBS shows high survival rates when considering CBS-related complications and underlying disease, however, long-term survival related to the underlying disease demonstrated high mortality. Conclusions: Identifying patients at risk for CBS enables practitioners to counsel patients on life-saving interventions and expected outcomes following treatment of CBS. Treatment of CBS is associated with high short-term survival, although long-term survival related to underlying disease is low. Level of Evidence: N/A Laryngoscope, 133:576–587, 2023.