Background: Hypoxic preconditioning (HPC) may protect multiple organs from various injuries. We hypothesized that HPC would reduce lung injury in patients undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy.
Methods: In a prospective randomized controlled trial, 70 patients undergoing elective thoracoscopic lobectomy were randomly allocated to the HPC group or the control group. Three cycles of 5-min hypoxia and 3-min ventilation applied to the nondependent lung served as the HPC intervention. The primary outcome was the PaO2/FiO2 ratio. Secondary outcomes included postoperative pulmonary complications, pulmonary function, and duration of hospital stay.
Results: HPC significantly increased the PaO2/FiO2 ratio compared with the control at 30 min after one-lung ventilation and 7 days after operation. Compared with the control, it also significantly improved postoperative pulmonary function and markedly reduced the postoperative hospital stay duration. No significant differences between groups were observed in the incidence of pulmonary complications or overall postoperative morbidity.
Conclusions: HPC improves postoperative oxygenation, enhances the recovery of pulmonary function, and reduces the duration of hospital stay in patients undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy.
Trial registration: This study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-IPR-17011249) on April 27, 2017.
Keywords: Hypoxic preconditioning; Non-small cell lung cancer; One-lung ventilation; PaO2/FiO2 ratio; Pulmonary complications; Thoracoscopic lobectomy.