Elevated Body Mass Index Associated with Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak after Lateral Skull Base Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

ObjectiveTo determine if body mass index (BMI) increases the risk of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak after lateral skull base surgery.Data sourcesCINAHL, PubMed, and Scopus were searched from January 2010 to September 2022 for articles published in English.Study selectionArticles that reported BMI or obesity with and without CSF leaks after lateral skull base surgery were included.Data extractionTwo reviewers (F.G.D. and B.K.W.) independently performed study screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment.Data synthesisA total of 11 studies and 9,132 patients met inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis of mean difference (MD), odds ratio (OR), proportions, and risk ratio (RR) were calculated using RevMan 5.4 and MedCalc 20.110. BMI for patients with CSF leak after lateral skull base surgery (29.39 kg/m(2), 95% confidence interval [CI] = 27.75 to 31.04) was significantly greater than BMI for patients without CSF leak after lateral skull base surgery (27.09 kg/m(2), 95% CI = 26.16 to 28.01) with an MD of 2.21 kg/m(2) (95% CI = 1.09 to 3.34, p = 0.0001). The proportion of patients with BMI & GE; 30 kg/m(2) that had a CSF leak was 12.7%, and the proportion of patients with BMI < 30 kg/m(2) (control) that had a CSF leak was 7.9%. The OR for CSF leak after lateral skull base surgery in patients with BMI & GE; 30 kg/m(2) was 1.94 (95% CI = 1.40 to 2.68, p < 0.0001), and the RR was 1.82 (95% CI = 1.36 to 2.43, p < 0.0001).ConclusionElevated BMI increases the risk of CSF leak after lateral skull base surgery.