Background: Recent studies suggest that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection increases the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) and mortality. Consequently, patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection undergoing emergency surgery are more vulnerable to PPCs, yet few studies have evaluated PPCs in these patients.
Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted between January 2022 and February 2023 on the medical records of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 who underwent emergency surgery. The study evaluated the incidence of PPCs and 30-day postoperative mortality in all enrolled patients.
Results: A total of 41 patients were enrolled, among whom PPCs occurred in seven patients (17%). The incidence of PPCs was statistically significant in patients with underlying diabetes compared to those without (p = 0.01) and in patients with an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class 3 or higher compared to those with less than 3 (p = 0.005) (ASA classification uses a grading system of I (one) through V (five)). The 30-day mortality rate was 4.9%.
Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that the incidence of PPCs and 30-day mortality rates after emergency surgery in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 are higher compared to prepandemic baseline rates. Given the significant interest and concern worldwide regarding severe infectious respiratory diseases, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), clinicians should focus on conducting research to identify ways to reduce the incidence of PPCs and mortality in patients with severe acute respiratory infections.
Keywords: 30-day mortality; coronavirus disease 2019; emergency surgery; postoperative pulmonary complications; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
© 2023 The Authors. Thoracic Cancer published by China Lung Oncology Group and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.