Cardiorespiratory Comorbidity and Postoperative Complications following Esophagectomy: a European Multicenter Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

The impact of cardiorespiratory comorbidity on operative outcomes after esophagectomy remains controversial. This study investigated the effect of cardiorespiratory comorbidity on postoperative complications for patients treated for esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A European multicenter cohort study from five high-volume esophageal cancer centers including patients treated between 2010 and 2017 was conducted. The effect of cardiorespiratory comorbidity and respiratory function upon postoperative outcomes was assessed.

RESULTS

In total 1590 patients from five centers were included; 274 (17.2%) had respiratory comorbidity, and 468 (29.4%) had cardiac comorbidity. Respiratory comorbidity was associated with increased risk of overall postoperative complications, anastomotic leak, pulmonary complications, pneumonia, increased Clavien-Dindo score, and critical care and hospital length of stay. After neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, respiratory comorbidity was associated with increased risk of anastomotic leak [odds ratio (OR) 1.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-3.04], pneumonia (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.10-2.47), and any pulmonary complication (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.04-2.22), an effect which was not observed following neoadjuvant chemotherapy or surgery alone. Cardiac comorbidity was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and pulmonary complications, respiratory failure, and Clavien-Dindo score ≥ IIIa. Among all patients, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio > 70% was associated with reduced risk of overall postoperative complications, cardiovascular complications, atrial fibrillation, pulmonary complications, and pneumonia.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study suggest that cardiorespiratory comorbidity and impaired pulmonary function are associated with increased risk of postoperative complications after esophagectomy performed in high-volume European centers. Given the observed interaction with neoadjuvant approach, these data indicate a potentially modifiable index of perioperative risk.

Palliation of dysphagia

Palliation of dysphagia is the cornerstone of palliative treatment in patients with incurable oesophageal cancer. Available palliative options for dysphagia are oesophageal stent placement and radiotherapy. In general, oesophageal stent placement is the preferred therapeutic option in patients with a relatively poor prognosis because of its rapid relief of dysphagia. Regardless of ongoing technical developments, recurrence of dysphagia and stent-related complications are still occurring. For patients with a relatively good prognosis, intra-luminal brachytherapy is advised because of its sustained palliation of dysphagia. Due to limited availability of intra-luminal brachytherapy in clinical practice, fractionated external beam radiation therapy is commonly applied as an alternative. Selection of the optimal palliative approach for patients remains however challenging as conclusive high-quality evidence is limited. Moreover, with the introduction of new palliative treatment options (e.g. palliative chemotherapeutic and radiotherapeutic options) and the concurrent change of patient characteristics, supporting evidence from large randomised studies is warranted.

Management of eosinophilic esophagitis in daily clinical practice

In recent years, new guidelines and recommendations have been published regarding the diagnostic criteria and therapeutic management of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). The aim of this study is to assess the diagnostic and therapeutic management of patients diagnosed with EoE in daily clinical practice and whether this was performed according to current guidelines and recommendations. A population-based, multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the national pathology registry (PALGA), medical records, and telephone interviews of patients diagnosed with EoE in two academic and two nonacademic hospitals in the period 2004 to 2014. The study was approved by all involved ethical committees. Data regarding demographics, clinical manifestations, endoscopic results, histologic samples, and therapeutic strategies were collected. Standard statistical analyses were performed to summarize patient characteristics. We included 119 patients diagnosed with EoE in this study. The median age at onset of symptoms was 29 years (IQR: 15-42) and the median age at diagnosis was 38 years (IQR: 23-51 years), leading to a median diagnostic patients' delay of 6.5 years (IQR: 2-14 years). The median physicians' delay in diagnosis between first contact in the hospital and diagnosis was 1.0 year (IQR: 1-7 years). The incidence of newly diagnosed patients with EoE increased steadily over a period of 11 years. Criteria for the microscopic diagnosis of EoE varied between pathologists in each hospital. Initial treatment included topical corticosteroids (TCS) (30.3%), proton pump inhibitors (PPI) (29.4%), or a combination (10.1%). A follow-up endoscopy was performed in 40.3% of patients. During follow-up, treatment included PPIs (76.0%), TCS (59.6%), a combination of PPIs and TCS (45.4%), and endoscopic dilations (6.7%). Diagnostic and therapeutic discrepancies between daily clinical practice and recommendations from current and past guidelines were observed. Apart from developing guidelines, efforts should be undertaken to implement these in daily clinical practice.