• Alexandre Ricardo Pepe Ambrozin, Daniele Cristina Cataneo, Karine Aparecida Arruda, and Antônio José Maria Cataneo.
• Program on General Basis of Surgery, Botucatu School of Medicine, São Paulo State University, UNESP, São Paulo, Brazil.
• J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg.. 2013 Apr 1;145(4):1093-7.

ObjectivesThe stair-climbing test as measured in meters or number of steps has been proposed to predict the risk of postoperative complications. The study objective was to determine whether the stair-climbing time can predict the risk of postoperative complications.MethodsPatients aged more than 18 years with a recommendation of thoracotomy for lung resection were included in the study. Spirometry was performed according to the criteria by the American Thoracic Society. The stair-climbing test was performed on shaded stairs with a total of 12.16 m in height, and the stair-climbing time in seconds elapsed during the climb of the total height was measured. The accuracy test was applied to obtain stair-climbing time predictive values, and the receiver operating characteristic curve was calculated. Variables were tested for association with postoperative cardiopulmonary complications using the Student t test for independent populations, the Mann-Whitney test, and the chi-square or Fisher exact test. Logistic regression analysis was performed.ResultsNinety-eight patients were evaluated. Of these, 27 showed postoperative complications. Differences were found between the groups for age and attributes obtained from the stair-climbing test. The cutoff point for stair-climbing time obtained from the receiver operating characteristic curve was 37.5 seconds. No differences were found between the groups for forced expiratory volume in 1 second. In the logistic regression, stair-climbing time was the only variable associated with postoperative complications, suggesting that the risk of postoperative complications increases with increased stair-climbing time.ConclusionsThe only variable showing association with complications, according to multivariate analysis, was stair-climbing time.Copyright © 2013 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

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