title: Relationship between the inability to climb two flights of stairs and outcome after major non-cardiac surgery: implications for the pre-operative assessment of functional capacity.
abstract: Functional capacity is an integral component of the pre-operative evaluation of the cardiac patient for non-cardiac surgery. Stair climbing capacity has peri-operative prognostic importance. It may predict survival after lung resection and complications after major non-cardiac surgery. However, stair climbing cannot determine the aerobic metabolic capacity necessary to survive the peri-operative stress response. The potential benefits and current limitations of cardiopulmonary exercise testing to determine peri-operative aerobic capacity are discussed. Principles for the selection of an appropriate screening test of aerobic function are put forward.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthetics, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, Private Bag 7, Congella 4013, South Africa. bruce.biccard@nda.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Biccard
mesh_terms: D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D010807:Physical Endurance; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome