Dodds N; Angell J; Lewis SL; Pyke M; White P; Darweish-Medniuk A; Mitchell DC; Tolchard S;

Disability and rehabilitation [Disabil Rehabil] 2022 Mar 29, pp. 1-7.
Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Mar 29.

Purpose: Surgery is associated with a post-operative stress response, changes in cardiopulmonary reserve, and metabolic demand. Here recovery after abdominal aortic aneurysm repair is investigated using cardiopulmonary exercise testing and patient-reported questionnaires.
Materials and Methods: Patients undergoing open ( n  = 21) or endovascular ( n  = 21) repair undertook cardiopulmonary exercise tests, activity, and health score questionnaires pre-operatively and, 8 and 16 weeks, post-operatively. Oxygen uptake and ventilatory parameters were measured, and routine blood tests were undertaken.
Results: Recovery was characterised by falls in anaerobic threshold, peak oxygen uptake, and oxygen pulse at 8 weeks which appeared to be associated with operative severity; the fall in peak oxygen uptake was greater following open vs. endovascular repair (3.5 vs. 1.6 ml ^. kg ^-1. min ^-1 ) and anaerobic threshold showed a similar tendency (3.1 vs. 1.7 ml ^. kg ^-1. min ^-1 ). In the smaller number of patients re-tested these changes resolved by 16 weeks. Reported health and activity did not change.
Conclusions: Aortic repair is associated with falls in the anaerobic threshold, peak oxygen uptake, and oxygen pulse of a magnitude that reflects operative severity and appears to resolve by 16 weeks. Thus, post-operatively patients may be at higher risk of further metabolic insult e.g. infection. This further characterises physiological recovery from aortic surgery and may assist in defining post-operative shielding time.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONAbdominal aortic aneurysm repair is a life-saving operation, the outcome from which is influenced by pre-operative cardiopulmonary reserve; individuals with poor reserve being at greater risk of peri-operative complications and death. However, for this operation, the physiological impact of surgery has not been studied.In a relatively small sample, this study suggests that AAA repair is associated with a significant decline in cardiopulmonary reserve when measured 8 weeks post-operatively and appears to recover by 16 weeks. Moreover, the impact may be greater in endovascular vs. open repair.