The association of intraoperative and early postoperative events with risk of pneumonia following cardiac surgery

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37797934/ AHRQ-funded researchers identified nine factors that increased a patient’s risk for developing pneumonia following cardiac surgery, including the length of the surgery and the time it takes to remove a breathing tube, according to a study published in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Postoperative pneumonia, among the most common complications following cardiac surgery, was associated with increased risks of other conditions and death, an average increase in hospital lengths of stay of seven to nine days, and additional healthcare expenditures from $12,000 to $14,000. Researchers studied more than 71,000 records of adult cardiac surgery patients treated between 2011 and 2021 and found that nearly 20 percent of patients moved into a higher pneumonia risk category based on their intraoperative and postoperative course. These findings may inform future quality improvement efforts to reduce patients’ risks of contracting postoperative pneumonia. Access the abstract.