title: Relative risk factors in the treatment of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma.
abstract: The potentially fatal complications associated with surgery and radiation therapy in the management of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) are analyzed. Quantitative risk factors established from review of the literature suggest a risk of potentially fatal complications of 1 in 3,000 from general anesthesia, 1 in 1,600 from arteriography, 1 in 160 from blood transfusion, and 1 in 500 from the surgical procedure itself. The total of these risks is comparable to the 1% lifetime risk of developing a radiation-induced tumor after radiation therapy. The time pattern of these complications differs in that fatal radiation-induced complications are delayed, whereas the risks associated with surgery, general anesthesia, and blood transfusion are more immediate. However, it is suggested that treatment-related risks of fatal complications are of a similar order of magnitude for surgery and for radiation therapy in the management of JNA.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects; D000792:Angiography / Q000009:adverse effects; D002648:Child; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology; D018219:Histiocytoma, Benign Fibrous / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012306:Risk; D065227:Transfusion Reaction