Predictive value of the respiratory exchange ratio for the occurrence of postoperative complications in laparoscopic surgery: a prospective and observational study

Indirect measurement of the respiratory exchange ratio (RER) has been shown to predict the occurrence of postoperative complications after major open non-cardiac surgery. Our main objective was to demonstrate the ability of the RER, indirectly measured by the anaesthesia respirator, to predict the occurrence of postoperative complications following laparoscopic surgery. We performed an observational, prospective and monocentric study. Haemodynamic and respiratory parameters were collected at several timepoints to calculate the RER by a non-volumetric method: RER = (FetCO₂–FiCO₂)/(FiO₂–FetO₂). Fifty patients were prospectively included. Nine patients (18%) had at least one postoperative complication. The mean RER was significantly higher for the subgroup of patients with complications than the subgroup without (1.04 ± 0.27 vs 0.88 ± 0.13, p < 0.05). The RER could predict the occurrence of post-operative complications with an area under the ROC curve of 0.73 (95% CI 0.59–0.85, p = 0.021). The best cut off was 0.98, with a sensitivity of 56% and a specificity of 88%. One hour after insufflation, the FiO₂–FetO₂ difference was significantly lower and the RER was significantly higher in the complications subgroup than in the subgroup without complications (4.4/− 1.6% vs 5.8/− 1.2%, p = 0.001 and 0.95 [0.85–1.04] vs 0.83 [0.75–0.92], p = 0.04, respectively). The RER measured during laparoscopic surgery can predict the occurrence of postoperative complications.