Effects of intraoperative non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on early postoperative pulmonary complications following lung resection: a retrospective propensity score-matched study.

Background: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used in surgery. The retrospective study was performed to explore the efficacy of intraoperative NSAIDs on postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after surgery. Methods: Patients with NSCLC who underwent lung resection between January 1 and May 31, 2019, were included in this study. Patients who were given NSAIDs were assigned to the NSAIDs group, while patients who did not receive NSAIDs were assigned to the control group. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to reduce confounding bias. The primary endpoint was PPCs. Results: In the study, 139 patients received perioperative NSAIDs, while 167 patients did not. Propensity score-matched analysis created a matched cohort of 238 patients, with 119 patients in each group. After matching, the frequencies of postoperative pneumonia, respiratory failure, and myocardial ischemia were significantly lower in the NSAIDs group than those in the control group (P<0.05). Compared to the control group, there were reduced intraoperative fentanyl equivalents, lower intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate and shorter postoperative hospital stay (PHS) in the NSAIDs group (P<0.05). Conclusions: The use of intraoperative NSAIDs decreased the incidence of postoperative pneumonia and respiratory failure, lowered ICU admission rate and shortened the PHS.