Bleeding and long-term survival after lung resections: nationwide observational cohort study

Background: Bleeding following lung surgery can lead to reoperation and blood transfusions, potentially impairing outcomes. This study aimed to assess how bleeding complications affect long-term survival and postoperative complications in a nationwide contemporary group of patients undergoing lung resections.<br /> Methods: Adult patients who underwent lung resections, for both malignant and nonmalignant diagnoses, between 2013-2021, were included from the Swedish national registry for thoracic surgery. Patients with bleeding complications, defined as requiring reexploration and/or transfusions, were compared to patients without bleeding complications regarding long-term survival and postoperative complications. We used propensity scores and optimal full matching to account for differences in baseline characteristics between the groups.<br /> Results: The cohort comprised 15,617 adult patients, of which 646 patients (4.1%) had bleeding complications. The unadjusted 90-day mortality was 9.4% vs . 1.0% in the bleeding group vs . no bleeding group, respectively. After matching, the odds ratio (OR) for 90-day mortality in the bleeding group compared with the no bleeding group was 3.66 [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.17-6.17]. Long term overall survival was lower among patients in the bleeding group, adjusted hazard ratio (95% CI) for all-cause mortality was 1.47 (1.29-1.69). Postoperative complications were more common in the bleeding group (OR: 3.00, 95% CI: 2.38-3.79), including infections (OR: 2.80, 95% CI: 1.86-4.20). Bleeding complications were more frequent during the first third of the study time period as compared to the last third (P<0.001).<br /> Conclusions: Patients with bleeding complications had reduced long-term survival and higher incidence of postoperative complications. A declining trend in bleeding rates over time was noted.