Comparison of postoperative cough-related quality of life and recovery between sublobectomy and lobectomy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients: a longitudinal study

Abstract Background Cough is a common complication after pulmonary surgery. Previous studies lacked a standard measure to assess postoperative cough-related quality of life and recovery. The purpose of this study is to compare postoperative cough regarding changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and recovery trajectory between video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy and sublobectomy (segmentectomy or wedge resection) for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients via the Leicester Cough Questionnaire in Mandarin Chinese (LCQ-MC). Methods Overall, 156 patients with NSCLC underwent either VATS lobectomy or VATS sublobectomy; LCQ-MC was used to report the impact of postoperative cough on HRQOL for 6 months after surgery. The total scores of LCQ-MC range from 3 to 21, with a higher score indicating better health. Recovery from postoperative cough was defined as LCQ-MC scores returning to preoperative levels. The sensitivity of LCQ-MC to changes in postoperative cough recovery over time was evaluated via its ability to distinguish between surgery types. Results The VATS sublobectomy group reported significantly higher mean LCQ-MC scores at 1 month after surgery, but no significant difference postoperatively at 3 and 6 months after surgery, and returned to preoperative physical (69 vs. 99 days), psychological (67 vs. 99 days), social (50 vs. 98 days) and total (69 vs. 99 days) scores faster than the VATS lobectomy group (all p