Expiratory Flow Limitation and Postoperative Complications

Expiratory flow limitation (EFL) occurs when flow ceases to increase with increasing expiratory effort. In any circumstances EFL predisposes to pulmonary dynamic hyperinflation and its unfavorable effects such as increased elastic work of breathing, inspiratory muscles dysfunction, and progressive neuroventilatory dissociation, leading to reduced exercise tolerance, marked breathlessness during effort, and severe chronic dyspnea. Our hypothesis is that EFL should affect post operative outcomes like incidence of pulmonary complication and length of stay in hospital

Inclusion Criteria:

• General anesthesia
• Duration of the surgery >2 hours

Exclusion Criteria:

• <18 years
• Consensus not given