Comparison of postoperative complications of 60- and 70-year-old patients after lung surgery

Abstract

This study investigated the association of age and postoperative complications in two different age groups undergoing thoracotomy and pulmonary resection. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all patients (n=150) older than 60 years who underwent pulmonary operations between January 2000 and December 2001. Group A consisted of 91 patients at the age of 60-69 years. In group B, there were 59 patients older than 70 years. We recorded preoperative assessment, clinical parameters, pre- and postoperative complications. The incidence of postoperative complications were compared between the two age groups using univariate and multivariate analysis. The incidence of postoperative complications in group A was 30% compared to 35.6% in group B. The most frequent complications were: cardiac arrhythmias 9.9% in group A vs. 15.2% in group B, and prolonged air leak 8.8% in group A vs. 8.5% in group B. Thirty days mortality was 0 vs. 1.2%. We concluded that there was no significantly higher incidence of postoperative complications in these two age groups.

Reduction of postoperative pulmonary complications after lung surgery using a fast track clinical pathway

“…Frequent pulmonary complications are atelectasis requiring fiberbronchoscopy, pneumonia and prolonged air leak; postoperative pneumonia which represents a life threatening complication in patients undergoing lung resections is about 25% [4]. The rate of prolonged air leak more than 7 days is about 25.5% and results in an extended length of stay in hospital [5]. The overall morbidity after lung surgery ranges up to 39.6%, mortality about 6% depending on preoperative pulmonary function and extent of surgical procedure [6].…”

The effect of malignancy on morbidity rates in thoracotomy patients

“…Despite studies reporting that chronological age and complication risk are not correlated [10][11][12] , particularly in patients with advanced age, morbidity rates have varied between 16%-50% due to general malaise, comorbidity, and incidence of diseases requiring major pulmonary resection 4,5,[13][14][15][16] . In a study conducted in our clinic, the patients over 65 years of age who had undergone thoracotomy had significantly higher morbidity rate than younger patient group had 17 .…”

“…Postoperative complications negatively affect the hospital stay, cost, and operative mortality rates 3,4 . Various studies have focused on risk factors such as age, comorbidity, smoking, and poor respiratory function that could cause complications [5][6][7] .…”

Efeitos da utilização profilática da ventilação mecânica não-invasiva no pós-operatório de ressecção pulmonar

“…do pós-operatório Stolz et al(2003)(48). classificam escape aéreo prolongado por um período superior há 7 dias do pós-operatório e relatam que 8,8% dos pacientes estudados que foram submetidos à ressecção pulmonar apresentaram escape aéreo prolongado.…”