Fig. 1

The correlation between postoperative complications and DMV, analyzed by one-way ANOVA. Sixty patients were divided into four groups based on the severity of postoperative complications as per Clavien-Dindo classification: group 1 (no complication, n = 18), group 2 (PLI only, n = 21), group 3 (PLI with other complications requiring pharmacological treatment, n = 14), and group 4 (PLI with other complications requiring at least invasive intervention, n = 7). As shown in Fig. 1, PLI, as the sole complication, did not prolong DMV compared to those without any complication (p = 0.537) most likely because of the use of effective antibiotics and proper respiratory management. However, PLI with other more severe complications that required at least pharmacological treatment (groups 3 and 4) seemed to remarkably prolong DMV, compared to those without any complication (p = 0.015 and 0.001, respectively). p = 0.997 (XLSTAT, Addinsoft Inc., New York, NY, USA)