Can postoperative pulmonary complications after elective cholecystectomy be predicted?

To determine predictors of postoperative morbidity in elective cholecystectomy patients, the authors examined prospectively the consequences of age, sex, active and past smoking, respiratory history, obesity, type of surgical incision, and preoperative pulmonary function, upon the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications and length of hospitalization. They identified 31 (14.8%) complications in 209 patients; 21 had atelectasis, 8 purulent bronchitis, and 2 pneumonia. These patients averaged 1.5 days longer in the hospital (p less than 0.001 by analysis of variance) than control patients. Abnormal spirometry (MEFV) and the single-breath nitrogen test (SBN2) were significant predictors of postoperative pulmonary complications (p less than 0.001 by discriminant analysis method). Active smoking and history of respiratory disease were associated with abnormal small airway function (p less than 0.001 by chisquare test), but did not predict postoperative morbidity. By analysis of variance, only a reduction in preoperative FVC emerged as predictive of prolonged hospitalization (p less than 0.001). These results were used to determine if the selection of patients by preoperative pulmonary function testing permits more cost-effective administration of respiratory therapy (RT) services. Neither the MEFV nor SBN2 had sufficient specificity to enhance the cost effectiveness of postoperative RT.