Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26920993›Full record

ArticleJournal of the American College of Surgeons2016

Timed Stair Climbing Is the Single Strongest Predictor of Perioperative Complications in Patients Undergoing Abdominal Surgery.

Sushanth Reddy, Carlo M Contreras, Brandon Singletary, T Miller Bradford, Mary G Waldrop, Andrew H Mims, W Andrew Smedley, Jacob A Swords, Thomas N Wang, Martin J Heslin

Registry-linked trialOpen access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07680777 (Perioperative Rehabilitation for Individuals Undergoing Inguinal Hernia Repair), which is not on this map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
4.7field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07680777 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Perioperative Rehabilitation for Individuals Undergoing Inguinal Hernia Repair: A Randomized Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of AlbertaRan2026 to 2027Enrolled98ConditionsInguinal HerniaArmsRehabilitation
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 36 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Timed Stair-Climbing as a Surrogate Marker for Sarcopenia Measurements in Predicting Surgical Outcomes.Journal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract · 2019
    Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Building a Center for Abdominal Core Health: The Importance of a Holistic Multidisciplinary Approach.Journal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract · 2022
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Sushanth ReddyDivision of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL. Electronic address: sreddy@uabmc.edu.
Carlo M ContrerasDivision of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
Brandon SingletaryDivision of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
T Miller BradfordDivision of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
Mary G WaldropDivision of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
Andrew H MimsDivision of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
W Andrew SmedleyDivision of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
Jacob A SwordsDivision of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
Thomas N WangDivision of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
Martin J HeslinDivision of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
University of Alabama at Birmingham · US

Funding

UAB / UMN SPORE in Pancreatic CancerP50CA101955 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI BUCHSBAUM, DONALD J · 2010 to 2014
$11.1M
Virus adjunctive therapies for pancreatic cancerP20CA101955 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI BUCHSBAUM, DONALD J. · 2003 to 2007
$4.6M
NCI NIH HHS P20 CA101955NCI NIH HHS P50 CA101955NCI NIH HHS P50CA101955
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCurrent methods to predict patients' perioperative morbidity use complex algorithms with multiple clinical variables focusing primarily on organ-specific compromise. The aim of the current study was to determine the value of a timed stair climb in predicting perioperative complications for patients undergoing abdominal surgery. STUDY

designFrom March 2014 to July 2015, three hundred and sixty-two patients attempted stair climbing while being timed before undergoing elective abdominal surgery. Vital signs were measured before and after stair climb. Ninety-day postoperative complications were assessed by the Accordion Severity Grading System. The prognostic value of stair climb was compared with the American College of Surgeons NSQIP risk calculator.

resultsA total of 264 (97.4%) patients were able to complete the stair climb. Stair climb time directly correlated to changes in both mean arterial pressure and heart rate as an indicator of stress. An Accordion grade 2 or higher complication occurred in 84 (25%) patients. There were 8 mortalities (2.4%). Patients with slower stair climb times had increased complication rates (p < 0.0001). In multivariable analysis, stair climb time was the single strongest predictor of complications (odds ratio = 1.029; p < 0.0001), and no other clinical comorbidity reached statistical significance. Receiver operative characteristic curves predicting postoperative morbidity by stair climb time was superior to that of the American College of Surgeons risk calculator (area under the curve = 0.81 vs 0.62; p < 0.0001). Additionally, slower patients had greater deviations from predicted length of hospital stay (p = 0.034).

conclusionsStair climb provides measurable stress, accurately predicts postoperative complications, and is easy to administer in patients undergoing abdominal surgery. Larger patient populations with a diverse group of operations will be needed to validate the use of stair climbing in risk-prediction models.

Indexed as

Exercise TestIntraoperative ComplicationsPostoperative ComplicationsAbdomenAgedCohort StudiesFemaleHumansLength of StayMaleMiddle AgedPredictive Value of TestsStress, PhysiologicalTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID26920993
PMCPMC4808604
OpenAlexW2254426117

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.