Distinct patterns of intraoperative hemodynamic behavior and postoperative outcomes after major abdominal surgery

To determine whether routinely recorded intraoperative hemodynamic data can identify clinically meaningful patterns associated with postoperative complications after major abdominal surgery.

Retrospective observational cohort study.

Single tertiary academic center; analysis of the INSPIRE perioperative research database.

13,143 adult patients undergoing elective major abdominal surgery with continuous invasive arterial pressure monitoring.

None.

Intraoperative hemodynamics were summarized using median mean arterial pressure (MAP), percentage of measurements with MAP <65 mmHg, vasopressor use, and fluid administration. Unsupervised k-means clustering was used to derive intraoperative hemodynamic phenotypes. Associations with postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI), intensive care unit (ICU) admission, in-hospital mortality, and hospital length of stay were assessed using adjusted regression models controlling for age, sex, body mass index, ASA physical status, and surgical department.

Four distinct intraoperative hemodynamic patterns were identified. Most procedures were hemodynamically stable (phenotype 1, 63.9%). Two intermediate (phenotype 2 and 3; 35.0% combined) were characterized by greater hypotension burden with increased vasopressor or fluid requirements. A small group (phenotype 4, 1.0%) showed sustained hypotension and high vasopressor use. Postoperative outcomes followed a graded pattern: AKI increased from 4.9% in phenotype 1 to 41.4% in phenotype 4, ICU admission from 8.3% to 93.2%, and in-hospital mortality from 0.7% to 6.0%. After adjustment, phenotypes 2 and 3 were associated with approximately two- to threefold higher odds of AKI and ICU admission compared with phenotype 1.

Distinct intraoperative hemodynamic phenotypes are associated with graded increases in postoperative complications after major abdominal surgery.