Indications for elective admission to the ICU following lung resection surgery:
(1) age of the patient > 70 years
(2) fibrotic lung disease
(3) risk of cardiovascular complications
(4) elevated ASA grade and/or performance status
(5) poor lung function
Additional factors to consider (probably incorporated with the ASA grade):
(1) recent chemotherapy
(2) significant obesity
(3) hepatorenal dysfunction
(4) smoking during the month prior to surgery
where:
• It might be interesting to see if the patient's calculated lung age could be used instead of the actual age.
• The cutoff for ASA grade was not given. A grade of 3 or higher could be used (although a person with ASA grade 4 or 5 might not be a candidate for lung resection surgery).
• The type of performance status measure and its cutoff are not given. One possibility is a Karnofsky status of <= 70.
