Effect of preoperative pulmonary rehabilitation on postoperative pneumonia in patients with lung cancer

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate whether preoperative pulmonary rehabilitation could prevent postoperative pneumonia. Methods Retrospective research was conducted on 792 lung cancer patients who underwent lobectomy at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2014 to July 2015. The patients were divided into two group including 148 patients with pulmonary rehabilitation and 644 patients without pulmonary rehabilitation; the incidence of postoperative pneumonia and the related clinical data were compared between the two groups. Results The incidence of postoperative pneumonia in the pulmonary rehabilitation group was significantly lower than that in the non-pulmonary rehabilitation group (8.1% vs 15.8%, P=0.013); The antibiotic use time, chest tube duration, postoperative hospital stay and drug costs in pulmonary rehabilitation group were statistically lower than non-pulmonary rehabilitation group [(4.1±2.1)d vs (4.9±2.5)d, P 70 years (OR=6.998, 95% CI: 4.236-11.561, P 180 min(OR=7.228, 95% CI: 2.657-19.666, P<0.001). Conclusions Preoperative pulmonary rehabilitation can reduce the incidence of postoperative pneumonia(OR=0.377, 95% CI: 0.188-0.756, P=0.006)and enhance recovery after surgery in patients with lung cancer. Key words: Pulmonary rehabilitation; Pneumonia; Lung neoplasms; Enhanced recovery after surgery