Table 3 Classifications of PPCs

0

No pulmonary complications

1

Any one of the following: cough, minor lung atelectasis (no obvious cause), dyspnea (no obvious cause)

2

Cough and sputum production (no obvious cause), bronchospasm (new-onset asthma or exacerbation of existing asthma that requires treatment), hypoxemia (SpO2 < 90% or PaO2 < 60 mmHg while breathing air), atelectasis (diagnosed by radiography or abnormal pulmonary sign with T > 37.5), hypercapnia (temporary or requires treatment; caused by medication or over-ventilation)

3

Pleural effusion (that requires drainage), suspected pneumonia (indicated by radiography, with or without microbiologic findings), diagnosed pneumonia (diagnosed based on the combination of radiology finding and microbiology evidence such as Gram staining or culture), pneumothorax (suggested by X-ray: observation of a lucent gas space devoid of pulmonary vessels between visceral pleura and the parietal pleura or symptoms of dyspnea, chest pain, irritating cough), noninvasive or invasive mechanical ventilation < 48 h

4

Respiratory failure (that requires noninvasive or invasive mechanical ventilation for > 48 h)