Objective:

Approximately 25% of patients undergoing lung resection inevitably develop postoperative complications, most of which are being cardiopulmonary in origin. Frequency of these complications can only be reduced by predicting such cases that carry higher risk and taking preventive measures accordingly. Thus, exercise tests that allow evaluation of both respiratory and cardiac performance are being carried out more frequently in recent years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of both stair climbing and 6-minute walking tests in predicting postoperative complications.

Material and methods:

Twenty-five consecutive patients in whom 17 (68%) of them were male with a mean age of 53,1±18,3 and undergoing lung resection were enrolled in this prospective study. All cases also underwent stair climbing and 6-minute walking tests irrespective of the results of their conventional spirometry or arterial blood gas analysis. Measurements of respiratory rate, systemic blood pressure and pulse rates before and at 1, 3, 5 and 10th minutes after both tests and 6-minute walking distance were recorded in a prospective database. Twenty (80%) patients were operated for carcinoma of the lung. Fifteen patients (60%) underwent lobectomy, 8 (32%) pneumonectomy and 2 (8%) wedge resection. Any cardiopulmonary complication occurring within the first 30 days after operation was considered as primary outcome of the study.

Results:

Six patients (24%) developed complications in the postoperative period. Of them, 3 patients had atelectasis and other 3 patients experienced fast atrial fibrillation requiring treatment. Development of a postoperative complication was not related to either gender, changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressures or breathing and pulse rates. Univariate analysis revealed that the mean heart rates at 3rd and 5th minutes were significantly higher (p=0,026 and p=0,035, respectively) in patients with complications. Heart rates of >120 min-1 and >115 min-1 at 3rd and 5th minutes after stair climbing test and a diastolic blood pressure of <65 mmHg at the end of 6-minute walking test were found to be good independent predictors for the development of a post-resection complication in a multivariate analysis (β=0,92 and p<0.03; β=0,91 and p<0.04; β=-0,88 and p<0,05, respectively).

Conclusions:

Although our study population was in a low risk group for cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, quarter of all patients developed a postoperative cardio-pulmonary complication, thus emphasizing the importance of exercise testing in the detection of higher risk patients. Due to ease of their application and lack of need for sophisticated equipment, we therefore recommend these two tests to be performed even for low risk patients undergoing lung resection.

Keywords: Exercise testing, morbidity, lung resection