Colquhoun, D. A., Fernandez-Bustamante, A. | Association of neuromuscular reversal drug with postoperative pulmonary complications in bronchoscopy: definitional challenges- Outcomes Research Consortium

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Colquhoun, D. A., Fernandez-Bustamante, A. | Association of neuromuscular reversal drug with postoperative pulmonary complications in bronchoscopy: definitional challenges

November 29, 2025

Background: 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.

Results: 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).

Conclusion: 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.