Developing a PPC after thoracic surgery is common and is associated with a poorer long-term outcome.

BackgroundPostoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are associated with poor outcomes following thoracotomy and lung resection. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for lobectomy is now frequently utilised as an alternative to thoracotomy, however patients remain at risk for development of PPC. There is little known of the short-term outcome associated with PPC following VATS lobectomy and if there are any potential risk factors that could be modified to prevent PPC development; our study aimed to investigate this.MethodsA prospective observational study of consecutive patients undergoing VATS lobectomy for lung cancer over a 4-year period in a regional centre was performed (2012–2016). Exclusion criteria included re-do VATS or surgery for pulmonary infection. All patients received physiotherapy as necessary from postoperative day 1 (POD1) and PPC was determined using the Melbourne Group Scale. Outcomes included hospital LOS, intensive therapy unit (ITU) admission and hospital mortality.ResultsOf the 285 patients included in the study, 137 were male (48.1%), the median (IQR) age was 69 (13) years and the mean (±SD) FEV1% predicted was 87% (±19). Patients that developed a PPC (n = 21; 7.4%) had a significantly longer hospital LOS (4 vs. 3 days), higher frequency of ITU admission (23.8% vs. 0.5%) and higher hospital mortality (14.3% vs. 0%) (p < 0.001). PPC patients also required more physiotherapy contacts/time, emergency call-outs and specific pulmonary therapy (p < 0.05). Current smoking and COPD diagnosis were significantly associated with development of PPC on univariate analysis (p < 0.05), however only current smoking was a significant independent risk factor on multivariate analysis (p = 0.015).ConclusionsPatients undergoing VATS lobectomy remain at risk of developing a PPC, which is associated with an increase in physiotherapy requirements and a worse short-term morbidity and mortality. Current smoking is the only independent risk factor for PPC after VATS lobectomy, thus vigorous addressing of preoperative smoking cessation is urgently needed.

This study demonstrates that patients undergoing VATS lobectomy developed less PPC and had improved associated outcomes compared to thoracotomy. Patients were more mobile earlier, and required half the physiotherapy resources having fewer pulmonary and mobility issues.

BackgroundSmoking is a risk factor for postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) following non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) surgery. The optimal timing for preoperative smoking cessation has not been identified. Our study aimed to observe the impact of preoperative smoking cessation on PPC incidence and other postoperative outcomes including long-term survival.MethodsA prospective study included consecutive patients following resection for NSCLC in a regional thoracic centre over a 4-year period (2010–2014). Patients were stratified according to self-reported preoperative smoking status. The primary endpoint was PPC incidence, which was assessed from postoperative day one onwards using the Melbourne Group Scale. Secondary endpoints included short-term outcomes (hospital length of stay [LOS], intensive therapy unit [ITU] admission, 30-day hospital readmission rate) and long-term survival.ResultsFour hundred and sixty-two patients included 111 (24%) current smokers, 55 (12%) ex-smokers <6 weeks, 245 (53%) ex-smokers ≥6 weeks and 51 (11%) never smokers. PPC occurred in 60 (13%) patients in total. Compared to never smokers, current smokers had a higher frequency of PPC (22% vs. 2%, p = 0.004), higher frequency of ITU admission (14% vs. 0%; p = 0.001) and a longer median (IQR) hospital LOS (6 [5] vs. 5 [2]; p = 0.001). In the ex-smokers there was a trend for a lower frequency of PPC (<6 weeks, 10.9% vs. ≥6 weeks, 11.8%) and ITU admission (<6 weeks, 5.5% vs. ≥6 weeks, 4.5%), but there was no difference between the <6 weeks or ≥6 weeks ex-smoking groups prior to surgery. There was no significant difference in long-term survival found between the groups of differing smoking status (median follow-up 29.8 months, 95%CI 28.4–31.1).ConclusionCurrent smokers have higher postoperative morbidity; this risk reduces following smoking cessation but 6 weeks does not appear to identify a time-point where differences in outcomes are noted.

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