Exhaled volatile organic compounds as predictive markers for hypoxemia after abdominal surgery
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: To identify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with postoperative hypoxemia in patients undergoing abdominal surgery. We prospectively enrolled 76 patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after undergoing abdominal surgery at Peking University People's Hospital between December 10, 2022 and June 30, 2023. Exhaled air samples were collected within 24 h after surgery. Thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) was used for identification and quantification of VOCs components in the exhaled air samples. Occurrence of hypoxemia with 24 h after surgery was evaluated and the patients were assigned into hypoxemia group and non-hypoxemia group. The profiles of exhaled VOCs were compared between the two groups with Lasso-Logistic regression. Among the 76 patients, 27 had hypoxemia and 49 had no hypoxemia. After Lasso-Logistic regression, the results showed that increased levels of allyl methyl sulfide (OR:1.000, p = 0.03), benzothiazole (OR:1.000, p = 0.041) and a decreased level of 2,3,6-trimethyldecane (OR:1.000, p = 0.009) in exhaled breath were associated with the occurrence of postoperative hypoxemia. The significance of the three VOCs conbined in predicting postoperative hypoxemia was evaluated and the area under the ROC curve was 0.785 (95% CI: 0.675, 0.895). The findings demonstrate that an increase in allyl methyl sulfide and benzothiazole levels and a decrease in 2,3,6-trimethyldecane in exhaled breath are associated with the occurrence of postoperative hypoxemia. A combination of the three VOCs exhibited a good predictive value for postoperative hypoxemia.
Source: Asian Journal of Surgery
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,200
OpenAlex ID: W7134112665