Long acting β(2)-adrenocepter agonists are not associated with atrial arrhythmias after pulmonary resection

BACKGROUND: Long-acting β(2)-adrenoceptor agonists have been shown to increase the risk of atrial arrhythmias in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The aim of this study was to investigate whether perioperative long-acting β(2)-adrenoceptor agonists treatment would increase the risk of postoperative atrial arrhythmias after lung cancer surgery in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 174 consecutive chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with non-small-cell lung cancer who underwent lobectomy or segmentectomy. The subjects were divided into those with or without perioperative long-acting β(2)-adrenoceptor agonists treatment. Postoperative cardiopulmonary complications were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the perioperative long-acting β(2)-adrenoceptor agonists treatment group and the control group in the incidence of postoperative atrial arrhythmias (P = 0.629). In 134 propensity-score–matched pairs, including variables such as age, gender, comorbidities, smoking history, operation procedure, lung-cancer staging, and respiratory function, there were no significant differences between the two groups in the incidence of postoperative cardiopulmonary complications, including atrial arrhythmias. CONCLUSIONS: Perioperative administration of long-acting β(2)-adrenoceptor agonists might not increase the incidence of postoperative atrial arrhythmias after surgical resection for non-small-cell lung cancer in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13019-017-0606-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.