Purpose: In patients undergoing surgical resection for gastric cancer, perioperative hemodynamic fluctuations may affect organ perfusion, increase the incidence of postoperative complications, and prolong hospital stay.
Patients and Methods: We retrospectively identified patients who underwent resection for gastric cancer at our institution from April 1, 2015 to October 30, 2018. Demographic information, perioperative data, and information on postoperative recovery were recorded. The primary outcome was length of postoperative hospital stay; the secondary outcome was incidence of postoperative complications. Propensity score matching was performed. The associations between perioperative factors and postoperative hospital stay were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression models in the full and matched cohorts.
Results: In total, 933 patients were included; of these, 676 had diastolic hypotension (defined as diastolic blood pressure < 60 mmHg for > 10 min). In both cohorts, patients with diastolic hypotension had statistically significantly longer postoperative hospital stay (full: mean 14.5 ± standard deviation 10.2 vs 11.6 ± 6.5 days, P < 0.001; matched: 13.7 ± 9.9 vs 11.7 ± 6.6 days, P = 0.009) and a higher incidence of postoperative complications (full: 170 [25.1%] vs 27 [10.5%] cases, P < 0.001; matched: 60 [24.4%] vs 33 [13.4%] cases, P = 0.003), compared with patients without diastolic hypotension. After correction for confounding factors, intraoperative diastolic hypotension was associated with longer postoperative hospital stay in both the full and the matched cohort (full: HR, 1.535 [95% CI, 1.115– 2.114], P = 0.009; matched: HR, 1.532 [95% CI, 1.032– 2.273], P = 0.034).
Conclusion: For patients with gastric cancer, intraoperative diastolic hypotension may increase the incidence of postoperative complications and prolong postoperative hospital stay.
Keywords: gastric cancer, diastolic hypotension, postoperative complications, hospital stay