Comparison of the results of preoperative assessment of cardiovascular risk and outcomes of surgical interventions for locally advanced abdominal cancer

This retrospective study analyzed the structure of complications and mortality cases in 351 patients (men, n = 199; women, n = 152) aged 33–89 years with locally advanced abdominal cancer and different cardiovascular risks in the early postoperative period, and two patient groups were formed. The main group consisted of 81 (23.1%) patients who died in the early postoperative period. The comparison group included 270 (76.9%) patients. In total, 311 (88.6%) patients underwent radical surgical intervention, whereas 40 (11.4%) underwent minimally invasive surgical treatment. Perioperative cardiovascular risk was stratified by calculating cardiac risk indices and using the database of the National Program for Improving the Quality of Surgical Care — Myocardial Infarction and Cardiac Arrest. Fatal complications in the early postoperative period after surgical treatment of locally advanced abdominal cancer is significantly more often observed in patients with a more pronounced degree of tumor invasion, lymph node lesions, high class according to the standards of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, reduced functional status, prior hormone therapy, and combined anesthesia. The majority of fatal cases were associated with three complications, i.e., ventricular arrhythmias (53%), acute decompensation of heart failure (46%), and multiple organ failure (43%). Approximately 95% of deaths were associated with increased postoperative cardiovascular risk, and 52% were medium-risk cases. Hospital mortality at low risk was noted in 4.9%, average in 27.8%, and high in 32.7% of the patients. In cases with a favorable course, surgical complications were predominant over cardiovascular ones. The use of calculated cardiac risk indices and database of the National Program for Improving the Quality of Surgical Care — Myocardial Infarction and Cardiac Arrest confirmed their high ability to predict the development of cardiovascular complications, which are the leading causes of death in the early postoperative period in patients who underwent surgical interventions for locally advanced abdominal cancer.