A nomogram for postoperative pulmonary infections in esophageal cancer patients: a two-center retrospective clinical study

Abstract Background Postoperative pulmonary infections (POPIs) occur in approximately 13–38% of patients who undergo surgery for esophageal cancer, negatively impacting patient outcomes and prolonging hospital stays. This study aims to develop a novel clinical prediction model to identify patients a...

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Main Authors: Shuang Li, Chen Fang, Zheng Tao, Jingfeng Zhu, Haitao Ma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-02-01
Series:BMC Surgery
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12893-025-02794-z
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author Shuang Li
Chen Fang
Zheng Tao
Jingfeng Zhu
Haitao Ma
author_facet Shuang Li
Chen Fang
Zheng Tao
Jingfeng Zhu
Haitao Ma
author_sort Shuang Li
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Postoperative pulmonary infections (POPIs) occur in approximately 13–38% of patients who undergo surgery for esophageal cancer, negatively impacting patient outcomes and prolonging hospital stays. This study aims to develop a novel clinical prediction model to identify patients at risk for POPIs early, thereby enabling timely intervention by clinicians. Methods This study included 910 patients from two hospitals. Of these, 795 patients from one hospital were randomly assigned to the training cohort (n = 556) and the validation cohort (n = 239) at a 7:3 ratio. The external test cohort consisted of 115 patients from the second hospital. A nomogram was developed via logistic regression to predict the incidence of POPIs. The model’s discrimination, precision and clinical benefit were evaluated by constructing a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calculating the area under the ROC curve (AUC), performing a calibration plot, conducting decision curve analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curves (CIC). Results Multivariate logistic regression revealed that age, anemia, neoadjuvant therapy, T stage, thoracic adhesions and duration of surgery were independent risk factors for POPIs. The AUC for the training cohort was 0.8095 (95% CI: 0.7664–0.8527), that for the validation cohort was 0.8039 (95% CI: 0.7436–0.8643), and that for the external test cohort was 0.7174 (95% CI: 0.6145–0.8204). Calibration plots demonstrated good agreement between the predicted and observed probabilities, while DCA and CIC demonstrated good clinical applicability of the model in three cohorts. Conclusion The nomogram, which incorporates six key factors, effectively predicts the risk of POPIs and can serve as a valuable tool for clinicians in identifying high-risk patients.
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spelling doaj-art-a287959e77f14f50800040dbb45144322025-08-20T02:15:11ZengBMCBMC Surgery1471-24822025-02-0125111410.1186/s12893-025-02794-zA nomogram for postoperative pulmonary infections in esophageal cancer patients: a two-center retrospective clinical studyShuang Li0Chen Fang1Zheng Tao2Jingfeng Zhu3Haitao Ma4Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Soochow UniversityDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Soochow UniversityDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Soochow UniversityDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, People’s Hospital Affiliated to Jiangsu UniversityDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Soochow UniversityAbstract Background Postoperative pulmonary infections (POPIs) occur in approximately 13–38% of patients who undergo surgery for esophageal cancer, negatively impacting patient outcomes and prolonging hospital stays. This study aims to develop a novel clinical prediction model to identify patients at risk for POPIs early, thereby enabling timely intervention by clinicians. Methods This study included 910 patients from two hospitals. Of these, 795 patients from one hospital were randomly assigned to the training cohort (n = 556) and the validation cohort (n = 239) at a 7:3 ratio. The external test cohort consisted of 115 patients from the second hospital. A nomogram was developed via logistic regression to predict the incidence of POPIs. The model’s discrimination, precision and clinical benefit were evaluated by constructing a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calculating the area under the ROC curve (AUC), performing a calibration plot, conducting decision curve analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curves (CIC). Results Multivariate logistic regression revealed that age, anemia, neoadjuvant therapy, T stage, thoracic adhesions and duration of surgery were independent risk factors for POPIs. The AUC for the training cohort was 0.8095 (95% CI: 0.7664–0.8527), that for the validation cohort was 0.8039 (95% CI: 0.7436–0.8643), and that for the external test cohort was 0.7174 (95% CI: 0.6145–0.8204). Calibration plots demonstrated good agreement between the predicted and observed probabilities, while DCA and CIC demonstrated good clinical applicability of the model in three cohorts. Conclusion The nomogram, which incorporates six key factors, effectively predicts the risk of POPIs and can serve as a valuable tool for clinicians in identifying high-risk patients.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12893-025-02794-zPostoperative pulmonary infectionsEsophageal cancerNomogramRisk factors
spellingShingle Shuang Li
Chen Fang
Zheng Tao
Jingfeng Zhu
Haitao Ma
A nomogram for postoperative pulmonary infections in esophageal cancer patients: a two-center retrospective clinical study
BMC Surgery
Postoperative pulmonary infections
Esophageal cancer
Nomogram
Risk factors
title A nomogram for postoperative pulmonary infections in esophageal cancer patients: a two-center retrospective clinical study
title_full A nomogram for postoperative pulmonary infections in esophageal cancer patients: a two-center retrospective clinical study
title_fullStr A nomogram for postoperative pulmonary infections in esophageal cancer patients: a two-center retrospective clinical study
title_full_unstemmed A nomogram for postoperative pulmonary infections in esophageal cancer patients: a two-center retrospective clinical study
title_short A nomogram for postoperative pulmonary infections in esophageal cancer patients: a two-center retrospective clinical study
title_sort nomogram for postoperative pulmonary infections in esophageal cancer patients a two center retrospective clinical study
topic Postoperative pulmonary infections
Esophageal cancer
Nomogram
Risk factors
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12893-025-02794-z
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