Effects of Local Protocols on Duration of Chest Tube Therapy Following Thoracic Surgery

Schillerhoehe Hospital80 enrolled

Overview

The effect of local chest-tube management protocols on the duration of chest-tube therapy following thoracic surgery was analyzed in four German specialized Thoracic Surgery Units. The primary study objective was the duration of chest tube therapy in postoperative patients.

The management of chest tubes is probably one of the most critical aspects in patient care in thoracic surgery and defines the required length of postoperative hospital stay in the majority of patients. So far, no generally accepted recommendations exist for postoperative chest tube management to streamline the postoperative stay. Instead, decision making in most thoracic surgery units is based on team preferences and individual training rather than scientific data. Therefore, digital pleural drainage systems represent a useful tool to standardize existing intradepartmental protocols for chest tube management. However, for the development of generally accepted protocol-recommendations, the diverging interdepartmental treatment protocols have to be analyzed and compared for superiority. In this IIT, the effect of different chest tube management protocols on chest tube duration is analyzed in four German Thoracic Surgery units.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

Conditions

Pulmonary Air Leak

Interventions

Chest tube removalPROCEDURE

Chest tube removal on the basis of local recommendations for postoperative chest tube management

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 85 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * age 18-85 * following pulmonary wedge resection, anatomic segmentectomy, or lobectomy Exclusion Criteria: * surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax (primary and secondary) * surgery for pleural empyema * present medication with corticoids, immunosuppressive drugs or platelet aggregation inhibitors other than Aspirin * history of chemotherapy, radiotherapy of the chest, or previous ipsilateral thoracic surgery

Locations (4)

Evangelische Lungenklinik Berlin

Berlin, Germany

Klinikum Bremen-Ost gGmbH

Bremen, Germany

Klinik Schillerhoehe

Gerlingen, Germany

Katholisches Klinikum Koblenz

Koblenz, Germany

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

chest tube therapy duration

number of days following thoracic surgery until chest tube was removed

Time frame: participants are followed for the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 5 days

Secondary Outcomes

presence of pulmonary air leak

number of days the Medela Thopaz device detected a pulmonary air leak following thoracic surgery

Time frame: participants are followed for the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 4 days

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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