Perioperative risk factors for postoperative respiratory failure.
Ahmed F Attaallah, Manuel C Vallejo, Osama M Elzamzamy and 2 others
PMID 30035690WHAT IT FOUND
Postoperative respiratory failure occurred in 2.4% of patients.
Age, BMI, COPD, surgical duration, inpatient status, and abdominal surgery were associated risk factors; emergency surgery was not.
Key findings
01The overall incidence of postoperative respiratory failure was 2.4%.
02In multivariate analysis, patient age, BMI, surgical duration, elective case, in-patient status, and preoperative COPD were significant risk factors.
03Abdominal surgical procedures were significant compared with all other operative classification sites.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was retrospective and used hospital database records and ICD codes, so it did not clinically adjudicate every respiratory failure event. Some risk factors identified from the literature were not available in the database, and unmeasured confounders cannot be excluded. The study was done at an academic medical centre, and controls were matched on risk factors identified in the PRF group. Almost all cases were elective, which may explain why emergency surgery was not found to be a risk factor.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these factors as proof that any intervention will prevent PRF. The study is retrospective and cannot separate causes, and emergency surgery was not found to be a risk factor.