Postoperative pulmonary complications in patients undergoing upper abdominal surgery: risk factors and predictive models

Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are unexpected disorders that occur up to 30 days after surgery, affecting the patient’s clinical status and requiring therapeutic intervention. Therefore, it becomes important to assess the patient preoperatively, as many of these complications can be minimized with proper perioperative strategies following a thorough preoperative checkup. Herein, we describe the PPCs and risk factors associated with developing PPCs in patients undergoing upper abdominal surgery. Additionally, we compared the accuracy of the American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) score, the Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia (ARISCAT) score, the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), and spirometry in predicting PPCs. Consenting patients (>18 years) undergoing elective upper abdominal surgery were recruited from November 2021 to April 2023. Clinical history was noted. Spirometry and 6MWT were both performed. Pre-operative ASA and ARISCAT scores were recorded. Postoperative follow-up was conducted to assess respiratory symptoms and the occurrence of PPC. PPC was defined as per EPCO guidelines. A total of 133 patients were recruited, predominantly male. A total of 27 (20.3%) patients developed PPCs. A total of 14 (10.5%) patients had more than one PPC. The most common PPCs developed were pleural effusion (11.3%), respiratory failure (7.5%), and pneumonia (4.5%). We obtained ten statistically significant associated variables on univariable analysis, viz obstructive airway disease (p=0.002), airflow limitation (p=0.043), chest radiography (p<0.001), albumin (p=0.30), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (p=0.029), aspartate aminotransferase (p=0.019), alanine aminotransferase (p=0.009), forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity ratio (p=0.006), duration of surgery (p<0.001), and ASA score (p=0.012). On multivariable regression analysis, abnormal chest radiograph [odds ratio: 8.26; (95% confidence interval: 2.58-25.43), p<0.001], BUN [1.05; (1.00-1.09), p=0.033], and duration of surgery [1.44; (1.18-1.76), p<0.001] were found to be independently associated with PPC. The ASA score was found to have better predictive power for the development of PPCs compared to the ARISCAT score but is of poor clinical significance. Additionally, 6MWD and spirometry results were found to lack any meaningful predictive power for PPC. To conclude, preoperative evaluation of the chest radiograph, BUN, and duration of surgery are independently associated with developing PPCs. The ASA score performs better than the ARISCAT score in identifying patients at a higher risk of developing PPCs and implementing preventive measures.