A retrospective analysis of the association of effort-independent cardiopulmonary exercise test variables with postoperative complications in patients who underwent elective colorectal surgery

Ruud F.W. Franssen*, Annefleur E.M. Berkel, David W.G. ten Cate, Job van der Palen, Nico L.U. van Meeteren, F. Jeroen Vogelaar, Gerrit Slooter, Joost M. Klaase, Maryska L.G. Janssen-Heijnen, Bart C. Bongers

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the association of effort-independent variables derived from the preoperative cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) with 30-day postoperative complications after elective colorectal surgery. Methods: A multicenter (n=4) retrospective explorative study was performed using data of patients who completed a preoperative CPET and underwent elective colorectal surgery. The preoperative slope of the relation between minute ventilation and carbon dioxide production (VE/VCO2-slope) and the oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES), as well as 30-day postoperative complications, were assessed. Multivariable logistic regression analyses and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to investigate the prognostic value of the relationship between these preoperative CPET-derived effort-independent variables and postoperative complications. Results: Data from 102 patients (60.1% males) with a median age of 72.0 (interquartile range 67.8–77.4) years were analyzed. Forty-four patients (43.1%) had one or more postoperative complications (of which 52.3% general and 77.3% surgical complications). Merely 10 (9.8%) patients had a general complication only. In multivariate analysis adjusted for surgical approach (open versus minimally invasive surgery), the VE/VCO2-slope (odds ratio (OR) 1.08, confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.16) and OUES (OR 0.94, CI 0.89–1.00) were statistically significant associated with the occurrence of 30-day postoperative complications. Conclusion: The effort-independent VE/VCO2-slope and OUES might be used to assist in future preoperative risk assessment and could especially be of added value in patients who are unable or unwilling to deliver a maximal cardiorespiratory effort. Future research should reveal the predictive value of these variables individually and/or in combination with other prognostic (CPET-derived) variables for postoperative complications. Trial registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05331196.

Original languageEnglish
Article number7
JournalLangenbeck's Archives of Surgery
Volume409
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Dec 2024

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© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

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