[Clinical investigation of arrhythmia appearing after resection for lung cancer].

Background: Arrhythmia, especially atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication during the early postoperative period of thoracic surgery.

Objective: To (1) characterize arrhythmia appearing after lung cancer resection, (2) evaluate risk factors for postoperative arrhythmia.

Results: We retrospectively studied 131 patients who underwent primary lung cancer resection in our hospital between January 2005 and December 2006. The average age at diagnosis was 68 +/- 9 yr. Arrythmia occurred in 16 patients (11.3%) (12 AF, 1 PSVT, 2 PAC, 1 sinus bradycardia). Arrhythmia occurred at postoperative day 2.3 +/- 1.7 (mean, range 0 to 6), and improved in all cases within 3 days of onset either by treatment with antiarrhythmic agents or spontaneously.

Conclusion: AF was the most common arrhythmia (12/16 patients, 75%) among the complications associated with lung cancer resection. It was assumed that postoperative AF would be transient and improved by optimal management. Our data suggest that age (> or = 70-years-old) and operation time (> or = 300 min) were regarded as risk factors for postoperative arrhythmia.