Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for primary lung cancer resections in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.

Background: Lung cancer patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are considered a high-risk population to receive radical surgical treatment due to the high incidence of cardiopulmonary complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical factors associated with postoperative complications in primary lung cancer patients with moderate to extremely severe grades of COPD.

Methods: From December 2015 to June 2020, 138 patients with moderate to extremely severe COPD who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lung cancer resection (lobectomy or sublobar resection) were retrospectively reviewed. Patients' postoperative complications were collected from clinical records. Clinical factors (such as COPD severity or surgical approaches, etc.) were evaluated to investigate the association with postoperative complications.

Results: Of the 138 patients included in the study, the mean age was 67 (63-74) years, the mean preoperative forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) was 1.33±0.39 L, the mean FEV1% was 51.23% (41.43-60.00%). 33% patients (46/138) had postoperative complications, and no mortality occurred. Univariate analysis revealed that incidence of overall complications (OCs) and respiratory complications (RCs) was markedly higher in extremely severe COPD patients compared to moderate (OCs, P=0.033; RCs, P=0.050) and severe (OCs, P=0.015; RCs, P=0.008) COPD patients, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that COPD grade was an independent risk factor of RCs (P=0.024). Furthermore, the grades of COPD (moderate, P=0.029; severe, P=0.028; extremely severe, P=0.019) and the surgical procedure (lobectomy or sublobar resection, P=0.043) were independent risk factors for atelectasis, which was the most common postoperative complication.

Conclusions: The aggravation of COPD was accompanied by an increase in the incidence of respiratory system complications postoperatively, especially atelectasis. For patients with moderate to extremely severe grades of COPD, careful perioperative evaluation should be performed to identify the indicators that influence the surgical choice between lobectomy and sublobar resection.