Table 1.
General demographics
| n | 268 |
|---|---|
| Age (years, IQR) | 66 (53–75) |
| Male | 166 (61.9) |
| Body mass index (kilograms/metres2, IQR) | 27.3 (24.0–31.2) |
| American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification system | |
| 1 | 32 (11.9) |
| 2 | 112 (41.8) |
| 3 | 71 (26.5) |
| 4 | 7 (2.6) |
| Unknown | 46 (17.2) |
| Current smoker | 42 (15.7) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 30 (11.2) |
| Previous cerebrovascular accident | 23 (8.6) |
| Urea (milligrams per decilitre, IQR) | 5.4 (4.5–7.0) |
| Proton pump inhibitor | 89 (33.2) |
| Steroids | 16 (6.0) |
| Cancer operation | 83 (31.0) |
| Type of operation | |
| Gastric | 28 (10.4) |
| Hepatobiliary/pancreatic | 19 (7.1) |
| Small bowel | 13 (4.9) |
| Colorectal | 76 (28.4) |
| Urological | 57 (21.3) |
| Vascular | 62 (23.1) |
| Other | 13 (4.9) |
| Perioperative antibiotics | 226 (84.3) |
| Type of intubation | |
| Laryngeal mask airway | 60 (22.4) |
| Cuffed/uncuffed endotracheal tube | 207 (77.2) |
| Unknown | 1 (0.4) |
| Method of operation | |
| Laparoscopic | 77 (28.7) |
| Laparoscopic-assisted | 6 (2.2) |
| Laparoscopic converted to open | 8 (3.0) |
| Open | 169 (63.1) |
| Endovascular | 8 (3.0) |
| Bowel resection | 74 (27.6) |
| Nasogastric tube | 9 (3.4) |
| Duration of surgery (minutes, IQR) | 145 (87–210) |
| Elective critical care admission | 52 (19.4) |
| Analgesia use in the first 24 h | |
| Epidural | 40 (14.9) |
| Patient controlled analgesia | 50 (18.7) |
| Wound catheter | 2 (0.7) |
| Oral analgesia only | 173 (64.6) |
| Unknown | 3 (1.1) |
| Change in analgesia strategy in the first 24 h | 171 (63.8) |
| Incentive spirometer | 3 (1.1) |