Table 2.
Patient baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | No. (%) of patients* | p value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOS1 n = 34 |
LOS2+ n = 171 |
Total n = 205 |
||
| Male | 15 (44.1) | 70 (40.9) | 85 (41.5) | 0.85 |
| Age at surgery, yr, median (IQR) | 66.1 (59.4–71.5) | 68.2 (60.1–74.5) | 67.7 (60.0–74.0) | 0.21 |
| No. of pack-years, median (IQR) | 35 (0–50) | 27.5 (0–50) | 30 (0–50) | 0.71 |
| Smoking status | 0.28 | |||
| Never smoker | 8 (28.6) | 31 (22.5) | 39 (23.5) | |
| Current smoker | 4 (14.3) | 40 (28.9) | 44 (26.5) | |
| Ex-smoker | 16(57.2) | 67 (48.6) | 83 (50.0) | |
| COPD | 0.52 | |||
| No | 21 (72.4) | 83 (63.9) | 104(65.4) | |
| Yes | 8 (27.6) | 47 (36.2) | 55 (34.6) | |
| DLCO† | 0.28 | |||
| High risk (DLCO ≤ 60) | 7 (26.9) | 20 (17.7) | 27 (19.4) | |
| Low risk (DLCO > 60) | 19 (73.1) | 93 (82.3) | 112 (80.6) | |
| FEV1† | 0.44 | |||
| High risk (FEV1 ≤ 60) | 1 (3.9) | 9 (7.4) | 10 (6.8) | |
| Low risk (FEV1 > 60) | 25 (96.1) | 112 (92.6) | 137 (93.2) | |
| No. of comorbidities‡ | 0.42 | |||
| 0 | 7 (23.3) | 43 (28.5) | 50 (27.6) | |
| 1 | 16 (53.3) | 47 (31.1) | 63 (34.8) | |
| 2 | 3 (10.0) | 34 (22.5) | 37 (20.4) | |
| 3 | 3 (10.0) | 12 (7.9) | 15 (8.3) | |
| > 3 | 1 (3.4) | 15 (10.0) | 16 (8.9) | |
| Distance from hospital ≥ 100 km | 12 (35.3) | 77 (46.1) | 89 (44.3) | 0.26 |
| Indication for resection | 0.053 | |||
| Primary lung cancer | 22 (64.7) | 139 (81.3) | 161 (78.5) | |
| Metastasis | 8 (23.5) | 17 (9.9) | 25 (12.2) | |
| Benign | 3 (8.8) | 6 (3.5) | 9 (4.4) | |
| Other | 1 (2.9) | 9 (5.3) | 10 (4.9) | |
| Lobe removed | 0.20 | |||
| Right upper lobe | 12 (35.3) | 51 (30) | 63 (30.1) | |
| Right middle lobe | 6 (17.7) | 12 (7.1) | 18 (8.8) | |
| Right lower lobe | 3 (8.8) | 33 (19.4) | 36 (17.7) | |
| Left upper lobe | 11(32.2) | 55 (32.4) | 66 (32.4) | |
| Left lower lobe | 2 (5.9) | 19 (11.2) | 21 (10.3) | |
| Surgeon | 0.95 | |||
| A | 20 (58.8) | 93 (58.5) | 113 (58.6) | |
| B | 0 | 2 (1.3) | 2 (1.0) | |
| C | 0 | 4 (2.5) | 4 (2.1) | |
| D | 14 (41.2) | 60 (37.7) | 74 (38.3 | |
| ASA classification | 0.12 | |||
| 1 or 2 | 25 (73.5) | 99 (58.2) | 124 (60.8) | |
| 3 or 4 | 9 (26.5) | 71 (41.8) | 80 (39.2) | |
| Epidural | 4 (16.0) | 18 (16.1) | 22 (16.1) | 1.00 |
| Clinical stage | < 0.001 | |||
| I | 23 (95.8) | 88 (61.1) | 111 (66.1) | |
| II–III | 1 (4.2) | 56 (38.9) | 57 (33.9) | |
| Pathologic stage | 0.033 | |||
| I | 21 (87.5) | 98 (64.5) | 119 (67.6) | |
| II–III | 3 (12.5) | 54 (35.5) | 57 (32.4) | |
ASA = American Society of Anesthesiologists; COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; DLCO = diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide; FEV1 = forced expiratory volume in 1 s; IQR= interquartile range; LOS1 = discharged within 23 hours; LOS2+ = discharged on postoperative day 2 or later.
Unless indicated otherwise.
DLCO and FEV1 cut-offs were chosen on the basis of clinically relevant cut-offs as reported in the Diagnosis and Management of Lung Cancer, American College of Chest Physicians Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines.31
Comorbidities included congestive heart failure, dementia, diabetes (with and without chronic complications), heart disease, hypertension, liver disease (mild, moderate or severe), hemiplegia or paraplegia, myocardial infarction, peptic ulcer disease, peripheral vascular disease, rheumatologic disease, HIV/AIDS, cerebrovascular disease and chronic pulmonary disease.