INTRODUCTION: According to the guidelines for preoperative assessment of lung resection candidates, patients with normal forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (D LCO) are at low risk for post-operative pulmonary complications (PPC). However, PPC affect hospital length of stay and related healthcare costs. We aimed to assess risk of PPC for lung resection candidates with normal FEV1 and D LCO (>80% predicted) and identify factors associated with PPC. METHODS: 398 patients were prospectively studied at two centres between 2017 and 2021. PPC were recorded from the first 30 post-operative days. Subgroups of patients with and without PPC were compared and factors with significant difference were analysed by uni- and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: 188 subjects had normal FEV1 and D LCO. Of these, 17 patients (9%) developed PPC. Patients with PPC had significantly lower pressure of end-tidal carbon dioxide (P ETCO2 ) at rest (27.7 versus 29.9; p=0.033) and higher ventilatory efficiency (V'E/V'CO2 ) slope (31.1 versus 28; p=0.016) compared to those without PPC. Multivariate models showed association between resting P ETCO2 (OR 0.872; p=0.035) and V'E/V'CO2 slope (OR 1.116; p=0.03) and PPC. In both models, thoracotomy was strongly associated with PPC (OR 6.419; p=0.005 and OR 5.884; p=0.007, respectively). Peak oxygen consumption failed to predict PPC (p=0.917). CONCLUSIONS: Resting P ETCO2 adds incremental information for risk prediction of PPC in patients with normal FEV1 and D LCO. We propose resting P ETCO2 be an additional parameter to FEV1 and D LCO for preoperative risk stratification.

1st Department of Surgery St Anne's University Hospital Brno Czech Republic

Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care St Anne's University Hospital Brno Czech Republic

Department of Cardiovascular Diseases Mayo Clinic Rochester MN USA

Department of Respiratory Diseases University Hospital Brno Brno Czech Republic

Department of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation St Anne's University Hospital Brno Czech Republic

Department of Surgery University Hospital Brno Brno Czech Republic

Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses Ltd Brno Czech Republic

International Clinical Research Center St Anne's University Hospital Brno Czech Republic

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New models for prediction of postoperative pulmonary complications in lung resection candidates