Physical activity as a predictor of postoperative complications among patients undergoing lung cancer surgery

Aim: To determine if the measurement of physical activity among patients undergoing lung cancer surgery may be a predictor of postoperative complications. Material and Methods: Prospective observational study with consecutive inclusion of surgical patients from the lung cancer unit at Virgen Macarena Hospital in Seville from October2015 to October2016. The physical activity before surgery was measured using Armband ® accelerometers for 5 consecutive days. All the complications during the postoperative period were analyzed, as well as the total number of complications in each patient. The variable number of complications was redefined in 3categories: A:0, B:1-2 or C:³3complications. Results: 56patients were evaluated, mostly men (96.2%), with a average age of 66.6 ± 7.9 years. The most frequent complications were leakage(33.9%), adherence(32.1%) and pleural effusion(21.3%). Almost half of the patients (48.2%) presented between 1 and 2 complications. Regarding the relation between the number of complications and the physical activity variables, no statistically significant differences were found(MET:A:1.4±0.2, B:1.2±0.2 and C:1.3±0.2; Number of steps/day:A:7200.4±3703.9, B:6292.5±3290.4 and C:7000.9±4509.8). We found a weak correlation (r=0.351, although significant (p<0.04) between MET and VO2/kg. Conclusions: In general, patients who are going to undergo lung cancer surgery have moderate levels of physical activity. However, these levels are not related to the presence of a greater number of complications after surgery. The use of METs could be used as a tool for assessing the surgical risks in centers where VO2 measurement is not available, although more studies are needed and larger samples are required.