Table 2.

Definitions of postoperative respiratory complications from European Perioperative Clinical Outcome consensus statement¹

Postoperative pulmonary complication	Definition
Respiratory infection	Patient has received antibiotics for suspected respiratory infection and met one or more of the following criteria: new or changed sputum, new or changed lung opacities, fever, white blood cell count >12×109/L
Respiratory failure	Postoperative PaO2 <8 kPa (60 mm Hg) on room air, PaO2:FiO2 ratio <40 kPa (300 mm Hg), or arterial oxyhaemoglobin saturation measured with pulse oximetry <90% and needing oxygen therapy
Pleural effusion	Chest radiograph showing blunting of costophrenic angle, loss of sharp silhouette of ipsilateral hemidiaphragm in upright position, evidence of displacement of adjacent anatomical structures, or (in supine position) hazy opacity in one hemithorax with preserved vascular shadows
Atelectasis	Lung opacification with shift of mediastinum, hilum, or hemidiaphragm towards affected area, and compensatory over-inflation in adjacent non-atelectatic lung
Pneumothorax	Air in pleural space with no vascular bed surrounding visceral pleura