PULMONARY COMPLICATIONS AFTER CARDIAC SURGERY

Abstract

Pulmonary complications are one of the most important complications which occur to patients undergoing cardiac surgery. And may occur as frequently as cardiac complications during or after surgery. These complications may include pneumonia, respiratory failure with prolonged mechanical ventilation, bronchospasm, atelectasis, and exacerbation of underlying chronic lung disease. Pulmonary complications are expensive and require lengthy hospitalization. The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) compared hospitalization costs and length of stay among patients with various PPCs, among infectious, cardiovascular, venous thromboembolic, and pulmonary complications, pulmonary complications were one of the most costly complications, required the longest mean hospital stay. For these reasons, identifying patients at risk for pulmonary complications and developing a strategy to reduce the risk is clearly helpful. Therefore, we should become familiar with the risk factors for pulmonary complications that occur after cardiac surgery and assess the possible presence of these factors during the preoperative evaluation of their patients, factors that occur intraoperative and post operative risk factors.