Preoperative fractional exhaled nitric oxide is a risk and predictive factor of postoperative cough for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients: a longitudinal study.

Background: To determine whether preoperative fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) level is a risk and predictive factor of postoperative cough by using the Leicester Cough Questionnaire in Mandarin-Chinese (LCQ-MC).

Methods: 292 early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients without preoperative cough were enrolled. 138 patients (47.