CHESTY (CHEST infection prevalence following surgerY): Incidence of respiratory complications in adults following major surgery.

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Post-operative pulmonary complications (PPC) are the most common complication following upper abdominal surgery (UAS).. Recent unpublished data from a large international multi-centre randomised control trial (LIPPSMAck POP; Boden 2015) found that patients who develop a PPC following major upper abdominal surgery had a mean LOS five days longer, cost an additional $AUD18,000 per episode, and have a significantly higher 30-day mortality rate (9% v 1%, p=0.01) compared to those without a PPC. This is in keeping with meta-analysis data of mortality attributable to postoperative acute lung injury (Neto 2014). Previously reported PPC incidence rates following abdominal surgery vary greatly (anywhere between 10 and 80%). This variance is mostly due to two factors; firstly, the patient group being investigated (for example low risk hernia repair compared to higher risk oesophagectomy) and secondly, the diagnostic criteria used to detect a PPC. There is also limited current prospective evidence to estimate the PPC rate in surgical groups other than elective major abdominal surgery. This includes emergency surgery, organ transplant, neurosurgery, cardiac, thoracic, ENT surgery, and minimally invasive abdominal surgery. The combination of non-standardised measurement of PPC incidence and lack of contemporary incidence rates outside of abdominal surgery means that it is not possible to accurately estimate which surgical groups are at highest risk of developing a PPC. It also means that resource allocation of prophylactic interventions like physiotherapy is not based upon robust evidence. Hospitals could be over-treating some surgical groups and most concerning, under-treating others. This is unknown, as the current physiotherapy practice for these surgical groups has also not been measured robustly (audit rather than survey) and what impact this may have on PPC rate, mortality, and LOS. Considering the high morbidity, mortality, and cost impact of a PPC there is an urgent need to measure PPC prevalence using consistent diagnostic criteria, over a range of hospital types and surgical groups, and a need to investigate the current use of physiotherapy interventions to reduce PPC incidence and improve recovery following major non-orthopaedic surgery.

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