Table 1 Postoperative non-cardiac complications clustered in different groups
Complication | Definition |
|---|---|
Neurological | Stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA): diagnosis was based on radiological imaging of the brain and clinical examination. Postoperative delirium: diagnosis was based on the criteria in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) (Boustani et al. 2014). |
Renal | Acute kidney injury (AKI): an output of urine < 0.5 ml kg−1 h−1 for at least 6 h or a postoperative creatinine ≥ 1.5 higher than pre-operative baseline (Khwaja 2012). |
Bleeding or thrombo-embolic | Major peri-operative bleeding: transfusion of over four units of red cell concentrates during 24 h. Transfusion due to intraoperative bleeding was not included. Deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism: the diagnosis was based on clinical suspicion confirmed by ultrasound (duplex) or radiological examination. Severe coagulopathy: coagulopathy which requires pharmacological intervention (excluding pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis). |
Infectious | Surgical site infection (< 30 days): diagnosis was based on criteria established by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Mangram et al. 1999). Urinary tract infection: based on clinical presentation and urine cultures. Pneumonia: based on clinical presentation, radiological examination, and airway cultures. Other infections: not mentioned above and that required antibiotic treatment. |
Other | Other complications: complications that were considered by the investigator as serious, delayed time to discharge from the hospital or resulted in readmission |