UNASSIGNED: A total of 198 NSCLC patients were enrolled. Overall, 91 patients (46.0%) developed cough after VATS, and 73 patients remained cough after 1 month. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the independent risk factors of postoperative cough.
UNASSIGNED: The independent factors of postoperative cough included female sex [odds ratio (OR) 2.399, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.260-4.565, P=0.008], duration of anesthesia (over 164 minutes; OR 2.810, 95% CI: 1.368-5.771, P=0.005), resection of the lower paratracheal nodes (OR 3.697, 95% CI: 1.439-9.499, P=0.007), and resection of the subcarinal nodes (OR 4.175, 95% CI: 1.203-14.495, P=0.024). The follow-up LCQ-MC total score after 1 month (18.00±1.80) was significantly higher than the postoperative total score (16.35±2.26; P=0.004).
UNASSIGNED: Female sex, duration of anesthesia over 164 minutes, lower paratracheal node resection and subcarinal node resection were independent risk factors related to cough in NSCLC patients after VATS. In addition, the LCQ-MC performed satisfactorily in describing the longitudinal changes in cough symptoms.