Relationship between the inability to climb two flights of stairs and outcome after major non‐cardiac surgery: implications for the pre‐operative assessment of functional capacity
Biccard BM.
Summary Functional capacity is an integral component of the pre‐operative evaluation of the cardiac patient for non‐cardiac surgery. Stair climbing capacity has peri‐operative prognostic importance. It may predict survival after lung resection and complications after major non‐cardiac surgery. However, stair climbing cannot determine the aerobic metabolic capacity necessary to survive the peri‐operative stress response. The potential benefits and current limitations of cardiopulmonary exercise testing to determine peri‐operative aerobic capacity are discussed. Principles for the selection of an appropriate screening test of aerobic function are put forward.