Abstract:Objective To analyze the effect of apneic ventilation combined with continuous low-to-moderate flow oxygen therapy on lung protection during one-lung ventilation in thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery.Methods A total of 102 patients who underwent thoracoscopic radical resection for lung cancer at Ningbo Second Hospital from January 2021 to June 2023 were prospectively included and divided into the control group and the observation group (51 cases in each group) by the random number table method. In the control group, continuous low-to-moderate flow oxygen therapy was adopted after one-lung ventilation, while in the observation group, apneic ventilation was additionally adopted. The respiratory index (RI), arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2), degree of lung collapse and quality of surgical field exposure, lung tissue injury score, pulmonary cell apoptosis index, postoperative length of hospital stay, duration of postoperative mechanical ventilation and complications were compared between the two groups.Results The RI and PaCO2 at 1 minute after anesthesia induction (T0), 30 minutes after one-lung ventilation (T1), and 1 hour after one-lung ventilation (T2) in the observation group and the control group were compared via the repeated measures ANOVA, which demonstrated that the RI and PaCO2 differed across the time points (F = 11.265 and 13.785, both P < 0.05) and between the groups (F = 9.143 and 11.068, both P < 0.05), and that the comparison of the change trends of RI and PaCO2 between the two groups showed statistically significant differences (F =10.372 and 12.412, both P < 0.05). The overall effective rate of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The lung tissue injury score and the pulmonary cell apoptosis index in the observation group were both lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The duration of postoperative mechanical ventilation and postoperative length of hospital stay in the observation group were both shorter than those in the control group (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the overall incidence of complications between the control group and the observation group (P > 0.05).Conclusion Apneic ventilation combined with continuous low-to-moderate flow oxygen therapy exhibits a definite effect on lung protection during one-lung ventilation in thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery. It reduces lung tissue injury, improves RI and PaCO2, promotes postoperative recovery, and is safe and reliable.