Background: Due to comorbidities such as sleep apnea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease intermittent as well as sustained hypoxemic burden is common in patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer. However, the effects of nocturnal hypoxemia on this patients are unclear.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of nocturnal hypoxemic burden on the postoperative course following anatomical lung resection in patients with lung cancer. Primary endpoint of the study was the length of hospital stay. Secondary endpoints include rate of pulmonary complications and histology of lung cancer.

Methods: Patients who underwent anatomical lung resection in 2022 and who received portable SDB-monitoring the night prior surgery were analysed. High intermittent hypoxemic burden (HiHB) was defined as oxygen desaturation index >30/h, high sustained hypoxemic burden (HsHB) as t90>12%.

Results: The study included 52 patients (69% male, median age 67 years[IQR 58.5-71.6]). 23 patients (44%) had evidence of nocturnal hypoxemic burden. HsHB was detected in 15 patients (29%), HiHB in 8 patients (15%). Patients with HsHB had a significantly longer hospital stay (7.0[IQR 5.0-8.5] vs 5.0[4.0-8.0] days; p=0.045), had numerically more pulmonary complications (26.7% vs 18.9%; p=0.467), were more likely diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) (63.5% vs 16.2%, p=0.011). Patients with HiHB did not show a longer hospital stay or increased pulmonary complication rate.

Conclusions: In particular, patients with HsHB had a significantly longer hospital stay, numerically more often pulmonary complications and were significantly more often affected by SqCC.