Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Community is quickly turning into the aging period, and lung cancer has become more common in elderly patients with malignant tumor. At present, surgery remains the preferred therapeutic choice. However, it's worth noting that arrhythmia is a common complication during the perioperative period. The aim of this study is to explore the risk factors of arrhythmia in lung cancer patients over the age of 70 years at perioperative periods. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 352 patients who underwent lobectomy or pneumectomy in Chinese PLA General Hospital from July 1997 to May 2008. Chi-square and Logistic regression were performed to analyze the clinical data. RESULTS: Among 352 elderly patients with lung cancer, 71 cases occurred perioperative arrhythmias. The occurrence rate was 20.2%. The results of multivariate analysis showed that age, cardiovascular disease history, arrhythmia history, cardiac and pulmonary dysfunction before operation, pneumonectomy, operation time were the high risk factors of perioperative arrhythmia. CONCLUSIONS: More attention should be paid to prevent perioperative arrhythmia in the elderly lung cancer patients.