We studied the relationship between age, type of surgical procedure and preoperative cardiopulmonary function and postoperative pulmonary complications and cardiac arrhythmias in 369 cases that underwent thoracotomy for bronchogenic carcinoma. The following results were obtained.
Pulmonary Complications:
1) Postoperative pulmonary complications occured in 73 (19.8%) of 369 patients. The incidence increased with age: 3.8% below 50 years of age, 16.0% between 50 and 59, 22.6% between 60 and 69, and 40.5% in the over 70 age group.
2) Lower %FVC, FEV
1.0/FVC and PO
2 and higher %RV and RV/TLC ratio were. observed in cases with pulmonary complications, compared to cases without complications. Of these tests, the most sensitive test was FEV
1.0/FVC. The incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications when FEV
1.0/FVC was below 60% was 43.5% compared with 17.6% when FEV
1.0/FVC was normal.
3) Cigarette smokers had double the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications of nonsmoker.
Cardiac Arrhythmia:
1) Cardiac arrhythmias were documented in 67 (18.2%) of 369 patients postoperatively. The incidence was 3.8% below 50 years of age, 10.9% between 50 and 59, 21.9% between 60 and 69 and 42.9% in the over 70 age group.
2) Postoperative arrhythmias were seen in 15.9% lobectomy and 30.6% of pneumonectomy cases.
3) Pre-existing cardiovascular disease was a factor strongly associated with a high incidence of cardiac arrhythmias. The incidence of postoperative arrhythmia in patients with abnormal ECG and hypertension was 34.9% and 31.4% respectively compared with 13.4% and 16.5% in patients without these abnormalities. Furthermore, ECG after exercise was studied preoperatively in 170 cases. Arrhythmias developed in 40% of cases with abnormal ECG after exercise, versus 20% in those with a normal ECG after exercise.
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