title: Surgical risk tests related to cardiopulmonary postoperative complications: comparison between upper abdominal and thoracic surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate if tests used in the preoperative period of upper abdominal or thoracic surgeries are able to differentiate the patients that presented cardiopulmonary postoperative complications.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy eight patients, 30 submitted to upper abdominal surgery and 48 to thoracic surgery were evaluated. Spirometry, respirometry, manovacuometry, six-minute walk test and stair-climbing test were performed. Complications from immediate postoperative to discharge from hospital were registered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The postoperative complications rate was 17% in upper abdominal surgery and 10% in thoracic surgery. In the univariate regression, the only variable that kept the correlation with postoperative complications in the upper abdominal surgery was maximal expiratory pressure. In thoracic surgery, the maximal voluntary ventilation, six-minute walk test and time in stair-climbing test presented correlation with postoperative complications. After multiple regression only stair-climbing test continued as an important risk predictor in thoracic surgery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The respiratory pressure could differentiate patients with complications in upper abdominal surgery, whereas in thoracic surgery, only spirometric values and exercise tests could differentiate them.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in General Basis of Surgery. Botucatu School of Medicine, UNESP, Botucatu-SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Karine Aparecida
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Arruda
authors.forename: Daniele Cristina
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Cataneo
authors.forename: Antonio José Maria
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Cataneo
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D053580:Muscle Strength; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D019616:Thoracic Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*