[Postoperative arrhythmia after resection of esophageal or cardiac carcinoma: with analysis of 108 cases].

Between Sept. 1991 and June 1992, a total of 453 cases with carcinomas of the esophagus or gastric cardia underwent surgical resection of cancer. In all patients, ECG was continuously monitored for at least 3 days after operation. There were 108 cases of postoperative arrhythmias, with an incidence of 23.8%, but 32.9% in patients with abnormal preoperative ECG, higher than that with normal preoperative ECG (21.9%) (P < 0.05). The postoperative arrhythmia appeared more frequently in the gastroesophageal anastomosis above the aortic arch (35.0%) than in that below it (16.3%) (P < 0.01). In 87.0% of arrhythmias appeared within 24 hours after the operation and 72.2% was sinus arrhythmia. The fatal arrhythmia was rarely seen. The common causes of postoperative arrhythmia were operative trauma and stress, respiratory insufficiency, heart failure, hypovolemia and high fever. After treatment in time, arrhythmias disappeared in 4 days. The emphasis is to find and get rid of the causes at first, then is the treatment of arrhythmia.