Preoperative Evaluation and Anesthetic Management of Patients with Low Respiratory Function

Recent advances in perioperative care has made patients with low respiratory function possible to enter the operating room. Occurence of respiratory complications may be mortal to such patients, so the preoperative evaluation of respiratory function is of great concern to the anesthesiologist. We have studied the relation between postoperative respiratory complications and anesthetic method, operative site, operative duration, in severe low respiratory function cases with a % VC of under 50% or a FEV1.0% of under 50%, from the recent 5 years. As a result, occurrence of postoperative respiratory complications is more dependent on the grade of severity of the main disease, and site and duration of operation rather than the level of respiratory function. Also, in such cases as operations involving the extremities and lower abdomen in which epidural anesthesia can be applied, may be conducted safely even though in the presence of low respiratory function.