title: An improved risk prediction method in bronchial carcinoma surgery.
abstract: In patients undergoing thoracotomy for carcinoma of the bronchus, a maximum mid-expiratory flow rate of less than 1.2 litres/sec and the operation involving right pneumonectomy have been shown to be factors associated with an increased risk of post-operative cardiopulmonary complications. These two criteria are combined with previously reported empirical limits for lung volume and ventilation values to give a new method of post-operative risk prediction. The improved method gave incorrect forecasts in only 46 of a series of 240 routinely referred patients compared with 90 by the earlier method. In a further series of the same number, only 32 patients were incorrectly forecast. The method is therefore recommended to classify patients as at either below-average, average, or above-average risk of function-related complications in future pre-operative assessments.
mesh_terms: D001980:Bronchi / Q000601:surgery; D001984:Bronchial Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008450:Maximal Midexpiratory Flow Rate; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011336:Probability; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012306:Risk