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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2002;22:35-40
© 2002 Elsevier Science NL
a Department of Thoracic Surgery, Scientific Institute H. San Raffaele, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy
b Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Scientific Institute H. San Raffaele, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy
c Division of Cardiology, Scientific Institute H. San Raffaele, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy
Received 21 September 2001; received in revised form 13 February 2002; accepted 25 March 2002.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +39-2-2643-7138; fax: +39-2-2643-7147
e-mail: paola.ciriaco{at}hsr.it
| Abstract |
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Key Words: Lung cancer Coronary artery disease Myocardial revascularization
| 1. Introduction |
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The possible association between cancer and coronary arterial disease in the male population has been reported to be around 6.9% [1]. Less often, patients are found to have major cardiac disease during preoperative evaluation for lung cancer [2,3]. The feasibility of lung resection for non-small cell lung cancer is dependent on the severity of the cardiac impairment since it can increase operative morbidity and mortality [2]. Operative risk can be reduced if the cardiac problem is addressed properly by performing prophylactic treatment of the coronary arterial disease either by percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Surgical treatment of lung cancer can be performed at the time of sternotomy for CABG, or after a few weeks with a staged approach [35]. The optimal timing of the two procedures is still controversial, however [5,6].
The aim of this study was to analyze the outcome of lung resection in patients with coronary arterial disease in terms of operative and postoperative complications and hospital stay.
| 2. Materials and methods |
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Preoperative evaluation included total body computed tomography scan, bone scan, fibrobronchoscopy, pulmonary function tests and arterial blood gas. A baseline cardiac assessment was performed on all patients including cardiac history, physical examination and a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). The same cardiologist (P.M.), who prescribed additional exams when indicated, saw all patients with ECG abnormalities and/or a history of chest pain and documented coronary arterial disease. The exercise tolerance test was indicated in all patients with cardiac symptoms, ECG modifications, and in patients who had had a myocardial infarction more than 1 year before at the time of hospitalization. If the test was negative, it was followed by surgery. If it was positive, it was followed by coronary artery angiography and patients discovered to have significant coronary artery obstruction had PTCA and, when indicated, positioning of a stent or CABG. Echocardiography was performed in patients who had had a myocardial infarction more than 1 year before and whose exercise tolerance test was negative in order to study their ventricular function; they underwent pulmonary surgery when the ejection fraction was >25%. Patients with an ECG suggestive for recent ischaemic disease underwent coronary artery angiography (Fig. 1) .
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Nineteen patients with a curable left-main or multiple-vessel disease first underwent surgical or transluminal myocardial revascularization and were discharged from hospital. They were subsequently readmitted to undergo lung resection. All procedures were performed on an elective basis. Patients were put on oral anticoagulant therapy until the time of hospital readmission for lung resection.
The remaining 31 patients, who presented with non-hemodynamically significant single- or double-vessel disease, were operated on for their lung cancer with intravenous administration of nitroglycerin intraoperatively and postoperatively (Table 1). Diagnosis of lung cancer was made in all patients preoperatively and prior to treatment of the coronary arterial disease by percutaneous needle biopsy or fibronchoscopy biopsy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was administered to those patients who presented with N2 disease and/or suspected vascular invasion by the tumor. Mediastinal lymph nodes <1 cm at the computed tomography (CT) scan were considered to be negative. Only one patient had paratracheal lymph nodes >1 cm at the CT scan and diagnosis of N2 disease was made by transbronchial biopsy instead of mediastinoscopy because of the favourable anatomic location of the lymph node. Lymph node staging was not carried out at the time of cardiac surgery in any of the patients who underwent prior surgical myocardial revascularization. Staging was done postsurgically following the new international staging system for lung cancer [7].
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2.1. Statistical analysis
Data are presented as mean±standard deviation, unless otherwise indicated. Continuous data were analyzed using unpaired t-test when two sets were compared or MannWhitney U-test for independent variables. Wilcoxon rank sum test was used when continuous variables were not normal. Categorical variables were analyzed using chi-squared or Fisher's exact test when expected cell frequencies were less than 5. Univariate analysis determined the impact of coronary arterial disease on operative complications and hospital stay. P-values less than 0.05 where considered statistically significant.
| 3. Results |
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Out of the 19 patients who underwent prior myocardial revascularization, six had CABG for two-vessel (three patients), three-vessel (two patients) and four-vessel disease (one patient) while 13 patients underwent PTCA, of whom nine for a single-vessel disease and four for a two-vessel disease. In six of these patients a coronary stent was also positioned.
Forty-one patients (82%) required additional preoperative cardiac exams other than ECG. Among the 19 patients who had prior myocardial revascularization, 13 presented with cardiac symptoms and six had only ECG modifications. All of them had a positive exercise tolerance test and a positive coronary angiography. The 31 patients who underwent lung surgery alone, presented in 10 cases with cardiac symptoms and underwent an exercise tolerance test that was negative in seven patients and positive in three patients. Coronary angiography performed on these patients did not show significant coronary artery obstruction. The remaining 21 patients presented only ECG modifications, and the exercise tolerance test was negative in eight cases and positive in 13 cases whose coronary angiography was also negative (Table 2).
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Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was administered in two patients: in one because of a large primitive tumor and in the other because of paratracheal N2 disease diagnosed by means of transbronchial biopsy. The latter patient underwent PTCA and positioning of a coronary stent prior to chemotherapy. Both patients had an almost complete response to chemotherapy and underwent adjuvant therapy after surgery. Preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy did not influence the operative and postoperative outcome.
Lung surgery consisted in 40 lobectomies including one en bloc chest wall resection, three pneumonectomies including one completion pneumonectomy, and seven wedge resections. Postsurgically 29 out of the overall 50 patients were in stage I (14 IA and 15 IB), 14 in stage II (three IIA and 11 IIB) and seven in stage IIIA (four N2). The four postsurgical N2 patients had mediastinal lymph nodes <1 cm at CT scan. The preoperative N2 diagnosed by means of transbronchial biopsy was downstaged after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Overall mortality and morbidity was 4% and 28%, respectively. Postoperative complications occurred in four of the 19 patients who had prior myocardial revascularization (21%) all consisting in supraventricular arrhythmia, and in 11 of the 31 patients who underwent lung resection alone (35%) (P=not significant). Six of these 11 patients experienced minor cardiac complications such as atrial fibrillation and three underwent minitracheostomy to treat retained secretions. There were two operative deaths among patients who did not undergo myocardial revascularization: one patient, who underwent a right completion pneumonectomy, died because of a malignant intraoperative arrhythmia and one died on postoperative day 29 as consequence of a stroke. Both patients who died were considered at medium-high cardiac risk because of a positive exercise tolerance test despite negative coronary angiography. There were no deaths among the patients who had prior myocardial revascularization. Overall occurrence of postoperative complications was influenced by age (P=0.02) and presence of medium-high cardiac risk (P=0.03). Differences between the two groups of patients are described in Table 3.
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| 4. Discussion |
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In agreement with the guidelines of the American College of Cardiology, we believe patients with a positive exercise tolerance test, unstable angina or recent myocardial infarction should undergo coronary catheterization [8]. In cases of severe coronary artery stenoses, myocardial revascularization can be achieved by means of PTCA or CABG prior to lung resection. Whenever surgical coronary revascularization is indicated, options include either simultaneous lung and cardiac surgery, or staged procedures. The feasibility of concomitant CABG and lung resection has been widely reported but with controversial results [36,11]. The combined approach is attractive because it theoretically allows fast treatment of both diseases with fewer resource expenditures. The combined procedure raises a number of concerns related to the potential hemorrhage resulting from the heparinization necessary for extracorporeal circulation and to the humoral and cellular immunosuppressive effects of cardiopulmonary bypass with respect to infections and dissemination of cancer. Ulicny and colleagues reported bleeding complications in 15.8% of their patients who underwent a combined procedure with lung resection performed during cardiopulmonary circulation or after heparin reversal. Yet statistical analysis showed no correlation between timing of resection with respect to extracorporeal circulation and the risk of subsequent complications [3]. Miller et al. found that a combined procedure resulted in a higher mortality than a staged procedure [4] and Voets et al. reported 60% of postoperative deaths related to sepsis in their series of patients who underwent combined heartlung surgery [13]. Off-pump coronary artery surgery might decrease the incidence of complications related to extracorporeal circulation [16]. In our series heart-beating myocardial revascularization was excluded because of non amenable coronary artery anatomy and/or coexisting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [17].
Another concern is related to the limited exposure that median sternotomy offers for left lower lobectomy and for lymphadenectomy in the posterior mediastinum. Miller et al. noticed a marked discrepancy in 5-year long-term survival between postsurgical stage I patients who had undergone a combined procedure (36.5%) and those in the same stage who had had staged procedures (100%). Moreover, the percentage of patients with N2 disease was greater in the former group [4]. These results could be accounted for by an inadequate lymphadenectomy performed during the combined procedure with consequent underestimation of the surgical stage of the disease.
When a staged operation is chosen, lung resection is generally recommended 46 weeks after open-heart surgery and 12 weeks after PTCA [6,9]. We preferred to stage the two procedures 36 weeks apart to allow optimization of the anticoagulant therapy and recovery from the effects of the cardiopulmonary bypass on immune response and lung physiology. None of the patients experienced progression of cancer. In the patient who required PTCA and positioning of a coronary artery stent and who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the interval between the cardiac and lung procedures was extended by 2 months.
Preoperative diagnosis of a pulmonary lesion by means of fibrobronchoscopy and percutaneous needle biopsy is important in all patients with coronary arterial disease with or without prior myocardial revascularization. Accurate diagnosis and preoperative staging allow correct planning of treatment in such delicate patients. Definition of N2 disease is important and this can be achieved by means of mediastinoscopy or in favorable conditions with transbronchial biopsy.
The extent of surgery is a recognized risk factor with mortality rates ranging from 3 to 17% following pneumonectomy and from 1 to 10% after lesser resection [9]. The use of a cardiopulmonary risk index might be helpful to predict outcome after thoracic surgery [18]. However, in a prospective study of 180 patients, Melendez and Carlon found that the preoperative cardiopulmonary risk index advocated by Epstein failed to predict complications after thoracic surgery since it showed a correlation only in the patients undergoing pneumonectomy [18]. Licker and colleagues also reported an increased mortality rate after pneumonectomy (7.9%) compared to the mortality rate after lobectomy (1.2%) or lesser resection (2%) [9]. We experienced a higher mortality rate after pneumonectomy (33%) than lobectomy (2.5%). However, of the three patients who underwent pneumonectomy, one had had prior myocardial revascularization and one presented a low cardiac risk while the third, who died as a result of intraoperative arrhythmia, had a medium to high coronary risk and underwent a completion pneumonectomy. None of the patients who underwent wedge resection experienced major postoperative complications.
Risk factors for the occurrence of postoperative complications and mortality after thoracic surgery also include age [9,10,12]. Older age is often correlated with a long smoking history and thus with a higher probability of impaired oxygenation and cardiac function. Patients who were over 70 years old experienced more postoperative complications than younger patients (40 vs.10%) although age did not influence postoperative hospital stay. Absence of myocardial revascularization and extent of resection influenced hospital stay positively.
Surgery still remains the best treatment for non-small cell lung cancer, and careful preoperative evaluation is important to minimize the risk of postoperative complications and mortality. Patients presenting with coronary artery disease considered to be at high risk for complications after thoracic surgery require aggressive perioperative management including cardiovascular monitoring with exercise tolerance tests, coronary angiography, echocardiography, pre- and postoperative physical therapy, as well as planned postoperative admission to an intensive care unit. Myocardial revascularization is advised for severe coronary artery stenoses, prior to lung resection possibly performed in a staged sequence. Moreover, limited resection, whenever feasible, should be preferred in patients at risk.
| Footnotes |
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| References |
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