Exhaled Breath Condensate Acidification Occurs During Surgery for Abdominal Cancer

Abstract

Background/aim: Acidification of exhaled breath condensate (EBC), reflecting airway inflammation and oxidative stress, has been reported in lung cancer patients undergoing lobectomy. We undertook this study to examine EBC pH changes during surgery for abdominal cancer.

Patients and methods: EBC pH was measured from 20 patients undergoing abdominal cancer resection before and during surgery. Repeated-measures of ANOVA and random-effects linear models were applied to compare mean EBC pH values in samples collected at different times. Cox and linear regression models were used to determine the association of EBC pH with occurrence of acute bronchospasm intra-operatively and the duration of hospitalization.

Results: Significant acidification of EBC was observed during surgery (p=0.007) associated with 0.77% (95% confidence interval=-0.14-1.68, p-value=0.097) increase in the risk for developing acute bronchospasm, after adjustment for potential confounders.

Conclusion: EBC acidification occurs in patients undergoing abdominal cancer resection and is associated with the occurrence of acute bronchospasm intraoperatively.

Keywords: Abdominal cancer; exhaled biomarkers; exhaled breath condensate; exhaled breath condensate pH; surgical oncology.