Complications of surgery for infectious lung cavities

BackgroundInfectious lung cavities are a common entity for the respiratory physician. Sometimes these lesions require surgical treatment, but surgery is challenging, and complications are common.MethodsPatients with infectious lung cavities amenable to surgical treatment were included in a case-control study. The control group included patients with no complications. The cases group comprised patients with any of the following complications up to 90 days after surgery: death, persistence of hemoptysis, empyema, operative blood loss > 500 mL, vascular lesion requiring repair, massive transfusion (>5 units of packed red blood cells per 48 h) or reoperation for bleeding, postoperative mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit stay > 48 h, prolonged air leak, and persistent atelectasis. The potential risk factors for complications analyzed were demographic data, exposure to contaminants, comorbidities, preoperative embolization, surgical indication, spirometry results, and sputum test positive for Mycobacte...