Key cardiopulmonary exercise testing indicators for predicting the risk of postoperative cardiopulmonary complications in patients undergoing thoracoscopic lung resection

Objective To explore the predictive value of key preoperative cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) indicators for cardiopulmonary complications following thoracoscopic lung resection. Methods Patients who underwent lung resection at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University were selected. Information was collected for patients who completed CPET using the incremental exercise protocol. Hospitalization information, postoperative complications and follow-up data were analyzed. Correlations between postoperative cardiopulmonary complications and preoperative CPET indices were analyzed to identify threshold values. Results Among 376 thoracoscopic lung resection patients, 52 experienced at least one complication (13.8%). Comparison between the cardiopulmonary complications group (CCP) and no complications group ( N CCP) revealed significant differences in age, extent of lung resection, and lymph node metastasis ( P < 0.05). Core CPET indicators including peak heart rate (peak HR), peak oxygen uptake (peak VO2), peak VO2%pred, peak metabolic equivalent (peak MET), and maximal workload %pred were significantly lower in the CCP group ( P < 0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of peak VO2%pred