?? Paper of the day

Postoperative pulmonary complications and mortality after major abdominal surgery. An observational multicenter prospective study

Published in Minerva Anestesiologica

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37671537/

Summary:

The study aims to evaluate the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications and mortality rates after major abdominal surgery.

40 Italian centres, 1542 patients

?? Takeaways:

1?? The study found a significant incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications after major abdominal surgery, which can contribute to increased morbidity and mortality rates.

2?? Incidence of PPCs 12.6% (95% CI 11.1-14.4%), with significant differences among general (18.3%, 95% CI 15.7-21.0%), gynaecological (3.7%, 95% CI 2.1-6.0%) and urological surgery (9.0%, 95% CI 6.0-12.8%).

3?? Patients who developed PPCs had a longer length of hospital stay, higher risk of 30-day hospital readmission, and increased in-hospital and one-year mortality

Limitations:

1. The study's observational design may limit the ability to establish a causal relationship between postoperative pulmonary complications and mortality.

2. Further research is needed to investigate the long-term effects of postoperative pulmonary complications and the effectiveness of different preventive strategies.