Desaturation during the stair-climbing test for patients who will undergo pulmonary resection: an indicator of postoperative complications

Objective It is widely accepted that exercise tolerance tests are applicable in perioperative risk assessment for patients who undergo pulmonary resection; however, the relevance of desaturation during the test is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the occurrence of desaturation during a stair-climbing test can be a predictor of postoperative complications among patients who will undergo pulmonary resection and are considered “normal risk” according to published guidelines.