Postoperative respiratory failure after major abdominal surgery: definition, diagnosis and prevention

Postoperative respiratory failure is one of the most important causes of morbidity, mortality and longer hospital stay in surgical patients, high incidence is comparable only with cardiac complications. However, no univocal and widely accepted definition is available throughout epidemiological studies. Different aspects are involved in the pathogenesis of postoperative respiratory complications, such as the kind of surgery, comorbidities, risk factors, and the population in study.