Aerobic fitness measures predict post-AAA complications

(HealthDay)—Cardiopulmonary exercise testing variables can predict postoperative complications after abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, according to a study published in the June issue of Anaesthesia.

Hashem M. Barakat, M.B.B.S., from the University of Hull & Hull York Medical School in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined whether measures of aerobic fitness can predict organ-specific complications after abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing data were collected prospectively over two years for 130 patients.

The researchers found that a decreased anaerobic threshold and open repair correlated with cardiac complications (odds ratios [ORs], 0.55 and 6.99, respectively). Increased ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide and open repair also correlated with pulmonary complications (ORs, 1.18 and 14.29, respectively). Hospital and critical care lengths of stay were shorter for patients who had an endovascular repair. There was no correlation for measures of fitness with 30-day mortality or length of hospital stay.

"Cardiopulmonary exercise testing variables, therefore, seem to predict different postoperative complications following abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, which adds value to their routine use in risk stratification and optimization of perioperative care," the authors write.