ABSTRACT
@#Objective To analyze risk factors for chronic cough after minimally invasive resection of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and explore the possible prevention measures. Methods A total of 128 NSCLC patients who received minimally invasive resection in 2018 in our hospital were enrolled, including 63 males and 65 females with an average age of 60.82±9.89 years. The patients were allocated into two groups: a robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) group (56 patients) and a video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) group (72 patients). Chronic cough was assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS), meanwhile, other perioperative indicators were compared between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for postoperative chronic cough and explore the prevention strategies. Results Overall, 61 (47.7%) patients were diagnosed with chronic cough after surgery, including 25 (44.6%) patients in the RATS group and 36 (50.0%) patients in the VATS group, and the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Compared with the VATS group, the RATS group got shorter endotracheal intubation time (P=0.009) and less blood loss (P<0.001). The univariate analysis showed that age (P=0.014), range of surgery (P=0.021), number of dissected lymph nodes (P=0.015), preoperative cough (P=0.006), endotracheal intubation time (P=0.004) were the influencing factors for postoperative chronic cough. The multivariate analysis showed that age <57 years (OR=3.006, 95%CI 1.294-6.986, P=0.011), preoperative cough (OR=3.944, 95%CI 4.548-10.048, P=0.004), endotracheal intubation time ≥172 min (OR=2.316, 95%CI 1.027-5.219, P=0.043), lobectomy (OR=2.651, 95%CI 1.052-6.681, P=0.039) were the independent risk factors for chronic cough. Conclusion There is no statistical difference in postoperative chronic cough between the RATS and VATS groups. The RATS group gets less blood loss and shorter endotracheal intubation time. Patients with younger age (<57 years), preoperative cough, lobectomy, and longer duration of endotracheal intubation (≥172 min) are more likely to have chronic cough after surgery.