Dynamic changes and metabolic function of intestinal flora in patients with postoperative pneumonia after lung cancer surgery

Meiling Wang, Weiting Jiang, Tingyu Wei, Zimeng Li, Yaxin Jiang, Pengcheng Zhou, Bizhen Chen 

Abstract

Postoperative pneumonia (POP) is the most prevalent postoperative complication following lung cancer surgery. It is a crucial factor that influences surgical success and the rapid recovery of patients. 

Introduction

Postoperative pneumonia (POP) is a new onset of pneumonia in surgical patients within 30 days of surgery and accounts for approximately 50% of all hospital-acquired pneumonia [1]. Currently, POP is the most common postoperative pulmonary and infectious complication in lung cancer, with an incidence ranging from 15% to 40% [2–4].

Materials and methods

This is a case-control study. Patients undergoing thoracoscopic radical lung cancer surgery under general anesthesia with tracheal intubation from December 2020 to December 2021 were recruited.

Results

45 subjects were finally included in the study: 15 healthy controls, 13 lung cancer patients with POP, and 17 lung cancer patients without POP (Fig 1). 

Discussion

Although POP is common in lung cancer and has serious consequences, its pathogenesis remains unclear. Our results showed that both at the time of preoperative and postoperative infections, the alpha diversity index of the intestinal flora was significantly lower in lung cancer patients with POP compared with the healthy population 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the intestinal flora of lung cancer patients with POP was further disrupted, with reduced intestinal flora diversity, significant differences in flora structure, decreased beneficial bacteria, and increased pathogenic or opportunistic pathogenic bacteria. 

Citation: Wang M, Jiang W, Wei T, Li Z, Jiang Y, Zhou P, et al. (2025) Dynamic changes and metabolic function of intestinal flora in patients with postoperative pneumonia after lung cancer surgery. PLoS ONE 20(4): e0321016. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321016

Editor: Zongxin Ling, State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, CHINA

Received: November 12, 2024; Accepted: February 27, 2025; Published: April 1, 2025

Copyright: © 2025 Wang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available at the following link, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra/PRJNA859507, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.

Funding: This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (No. 2021J01875); Medical Innovation Project of Fujian Provincial Health Commission (No. 2020CXB035). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.