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Editorial
. 2025 Jul;135(1):17-20.
doi: 10.1016/j.bja.2025.04.005. Epub 2025 May 9.

Association of neuromuscular reversal drug with postoperative pulmonary complications in bronchoscopy: definitional challenges

Douglas A Colquhoun  1 , Ana Fernandez-Bustamante  2
Affiliations
Editorial

Association of neuromuscular reversal drug with postoperative pulmonary complications in bronchoscopy: definitional challenges

Douglas A Colquhoun et al. Br J Anaesth. 2025 Jul.

Abstract

A recent retrospective study examined a composite of postoperative pulmonary complications after neostigmine or sugammadex for reversal of neuromuscular block in patients undergoing interventional pulmonology and bronchoscopic procedures. This study reviewed the electronic medical records of 8557 patients across hospitals within a single health system, finding an increased risk of a composite of postoperative pulmonary complications in those receiving sugammadex (odds ratio 1.44; 95% confidence interval: 1.02-2.05). We discuss the challenge of interpreting conflicting findings in the contemporary perioperative literature arising from heterogeneous definitions of postoperative pulmonary complications.

Keywords: bronchoscopy; interventional pulmonology; neostigmine; observational analyses; postoperative pulmonary complications; sugammadex.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations of interest DAC declares research support from Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. (Rahway, NJ, USA), Chiesi USA (Cary, NC, USA) and GE Healthcare (Chicago, IL, USA), paid to the University of Michigan unrelated to the presented work. DAC reports receiving an honorarium from Medscape, Inc. AF-B declares research support from Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., and Tidal Medical Technologies, Inc. (Berkeley, CA, USA), paid to the University of Colorado unrelated to the presented work.

Comment on

  • doi: 10.1016/j.bja.2025.01.039

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