Application of 6-minute walk test in perioperative evaluation of radical gastrectomy

GUAN Jinkun; SHAN Longcheng

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1009-0460.2025.08.011

Abstract：Objective To investigate the risk factors associated with postoperative complications after radical gastrectomy and evaluate the clinical value of 6-minutes walk test in perioperative assessment.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 118 patients who underwent radical gastrectomy in the Department of General Surgery at Jianhu County People's Hospital between January 2020 and January 2023.Baseline characteristics,laboratory test results,6-minute walking distance(6MWD),surgical-related indicators,and postoperative complications were recorded.Logistics regression analysis was performed to explore the risk factors associated with postoperative complications,and Spearman correlation analysis was further employed to examine the relationship between 6MWD and related perioperative indicators.Results A total of 118 patients were included,comprising 76 males and 42 females,with an median age of 67 years.Among them,29 underwent total gastrectomy,and 89 underwent subtotal gastrectomy.The incidence of postoperative complications was as follows:delayed gastric emptying in 16 patients(13.6%),wound infection in 13(11.0%),pulmonary complications in 12(10.2%),abdominal infection in 11(9.3%),anastomotic leakage in 8(6.8%),and postoperative bleeding in 4(3.4%).The Comprehensive Complication Index(CCI)was 12.2(6.5,24.2).Logistic regression analysis revealed that age(OR=0.864,95%CI:0.783-0.953,P=0.004)and 6MWD(OR=0.905,95%CI:0.863-0.949,P=0.001)were independent risk factors for high CCI.Spearman correlation analysis showed that 6MWD was strongly correlated with age(r=0.748,P=0.001),ASA grade(r=0.746,P=0.001),and total hospital stay(r=0.781,P=0.001).Conclusion 6MWD is significantly correlated with the occurrence of postoperative complications and total hospital stay in gastric cancer patients.Routine preoperative implementation of the 6-minute walk test can help identify high-risk patients and provide valuable reference for improving clinical outcomes.