[Atelectases in surgical and nonsurgical patients (a clinicoanatomical analysis)]

An analysis of the autopsy materials of the N. V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency for 20 years revealed 1181 atelectases including 442 in operated and 739 in nonoperated patients. In the former group atelectases occurred 2.5 times more frequently than in the latter, were more extensive and showed predominance of the reflectory, aspiration, and traumatic types. The relationship of the development of atelectasis and its extensiveness to the age, sex, kind of anesthesia, anatomic area, and duration of surgical intervention, as well as longevity of the patients in the postoperative period was established.