Postoperative new onset arrhythmias after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery compared with traditional open lung lobectomy : a prospective cohort study

Abstract

Objective Arrhythmias are one of the main causes of postoperative morbidity after thoracic surgery.The aim of this study was to evaluate whether video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery decreases the risk of postoperative arrhythmias compared with traditional open lung lobectomy.Methods 138 consecutive patients were enrolled from January 2011 to February 2012,after five age and risk factors matched,68 patients undergoing video-assisted thoracic surgery and 70 patients undergoing traditional open lung lobectomy were eligible for analysis.The rhythm was documented preoperatively and postoperatively with standard electrocardiogram (ECG) recording and ECG monitoring.All patients followed 3 months after hospital admission.Results There was a 17.6％ incidence (12/68) of postoperative new-onset arrhythmias undergoing video-assisted thoracic surgery and 18.6％ of patients (13/70) undergoing thoracotomy,but the difference was not statistically significant.In both groups,atrial fibrillation was the most common arrhythmia (60％).There was no significant difference in the other morbidity (P ＞0.05) and mortality rate(P =0.57,1.5％ vs 2.9％) between the two groups.Conclusion New-onset arrhythmias,most frequently atrial fibrillation,are common after lung lobectomy.Regardless of surgical approach,postoperative arrhythmias after lobectomy occurred with equal frequency.New insights in the pathophysiology of postoperative thoracic arrhythmias and advances in prevention and therapy are need future study. Key words: Carcinoma, non-small-cell lung ; Arrhythmia; Thoracoscopy ; Thoracic surgical procedures