Prehabilitation: a narrative review focused on exercise therapy for the prevention of postoperative pulmonary complications following lung resection.

Extensive preventive strategies in the perioperative period are popular worldwide. Novel "prehabilitation" approaches are being defined for every individual surgical discipline. With intention to reduce perioperative morbidity, "prehabilitation" was developed to increase "physical wellness" considering exercise capacity, nutritional status, and psychological support. Thus, prehabilitation could be well-suited for patients undergoing lung cancer surgery. Theoretically, improving physical condition may increase the chances of having a better post-operative course, especially among frail patients. In this review, we describe the concept of prehabilitation with possible benefits, its role in the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery protocols, and its potential for the future.

Association between use of enhanced recovery after surgery protocols and postoperative complications in colorectal surgery in Europe: The EuroPOWER international observational study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Assess the relationship between the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) pathway and routine care and 30-day postoperative outcomes. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: European centers (185 hospitals) across 21 countries. PATIENTS: A total of 2841 adult patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery. Each hospital had a 1-month recruitment period between October 2019 and September 2020. INTERVENTIONS: Routine perioperative care. MEASUREMENTS: Twenty-four components of the ERAS pathway were assessed in all patients regardless of whether they were treated in a formal ERAS pathway. A multivariable and multilevel logistic regression model was used to adjust for baseline risk factors, ERAS elements and country-based differences. RESULTS: A total of 1835 patients (65%) received perioperative care at a self-declared ERAS center, 474 (16.7%) developed moderate-to-severe postoperative complications, and 63 patients died (2.2%). There was no difference in the primary outcome between patients who were or were not treated in self-declared ERAS centers (17.1% vs. 16%; OR 1.00; 95%CI, 0.79-1.27; P = 0.986). Hospital stay was shorter among patients treated in self-declared ERAS centers (6 [5-9] vs. 8 [6-10] days; OR 0.82; 95%CI, 0.78-0.87; P < 0.001). Median adherence to 24 ERAS elements was 57% [48%-65%]. Adherence to ERAS-pathway quartiles (≥65% vs. <48%) suggested that patients with the highest adherence rates experienced a lower risk of moderate-to-severe complications (15.9% vs. 17.8%; OR 0.71; 95%CI, 0.53-0.96; P = 0.027), lower risk of death (0.3% vs. 2.9%; OR 0.10; 95%CI, 0.02-0.42; P = 0.002) and shorter hospital stay (6 [4-8] vs. 7 [5-10] days; OR 0.74; 95%CI, 0.69-0.79; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment in a self-declared ERAS center does not improve outcome after colorectal surgery. Increased adherence to the ERAS pathway is associated with a significant reduction in overall postoperative complications, lower risk of moderate-to-severe complications, shorter length of hospital stay and lower 30-day mortality.

Predictive Factors Involved in Development of Postoperative Pulmonary Complications.

OBJECTIVE: In the present study, we applied the method of the multi-center Prospective Evaluation of a Risk Score for postoperative pulmonary Complications in Europe (PERISCOPE) study, which was designed to predict postoperative complications and funded by the European Society of Anaesthesiology, to patients in our institution with the aim of prospectively analyzing the postoperative risk factors of pulmonary complications. METHODS: One hundred patients over 18 years of age who had emergency or elective non-thoracic or non-obstetric surgery under general anaesthesia or neuraxial blocks were included in the study. Collected data regarding the preoperative and postoperative period were filled in separate forms for all patients. RESULTS: A total of 11 patients developed pulmonary complications. We observed respiratory failure in 8 patients, pleural effusion in 3 patients, atelectasis in 5 patients, bronchospasm in 3 patients, and pneumothorax in 1 patient. In the univariate logistic regression model, patient age, gender, weight, rate of preoperative respiratory symptoms, cough test results, American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) score, and the duration of surgery did not significantly increase the complication risk (p>0.05). However, in the univariate logistic regression model, the presence of respiratory symptoms increased the risk for complications approximately 5.34-fold (p=0.014). There was an increase in the possibility of complications in parallel with the increase in the duration of postoperative hospital stay (p=0.012). More respiratory symptoms (p=0.019) and longer hospital stay (6.5 vs. 3.5 days respectively, p=0.029) were recorded in patients with postoperative pulmonary complications. CONCLUSION: Considering patients undergoing non-thoracic or non-obstetric surgery, the prevalence of postoperative pulmonary complications is higher in patients diagnosed with respiratory symptoms in the preoperative period. These complications significantly extend the length of hospital stay.