Preoperative pulmonary function in all comers for cardiac surgery predicts mortality

Influence of reduced diffusing capacity and FEV1 on outcome after cardiac surgery

“…We and others have previously demonstrated that FEV 1 < LLN is a strong predictor of increased mortality and morbidity in cardiac surgery patients 1,2,5,6 . In the present study, we explored if impaired DLCO had a higher impact on outcome compared with FEV 1 < LLN.…”

“…Impaired lung function is a serious risk factor of mortality in cardiac surgery patients 1‐5 . Consequently, most cardiac centres do not perform surgery on patients with a severely reduced forced expiratory volume within the first second (FEV 1 ), although no clear threshold has been defined.…”

“…Consequently, most cardiac centres do not perform surgery on patients with a severely reduced forced expiratory volume within the first second (FEV 1 ), although no clear threshold has been defined. Of interest, a reduced FEV 1 below the lower limit of normal (LLN) was shown to be an independent predictor of post‐operative complications and death also in patients without anamnestic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or smoking history 5,6 . However, impaired diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) has shown a higher correlation with post‐operative death than a reduced FEV 1 in surgical patients undergoing lung resection, in particular DLCO <60% was associated with increased mortality, 7,8 but the association of DLCO and FEV 1 alone or in combination has not been evaluated in all‐comers for cardiac surgery.…”