Suitable Patient Selection and Optimal Timing of Treatment for Persistent Air Leak after Lung Resection

The choice of therapeutic intervention for postoperative air leak varies between institutions. We aimed to identify the optimal timing and patient criteria for therapeutic intervention in cases of postoperative air leaks after lung resection.

This study utilized data from a prospective multicenter observational study conducted in 2019. Among the 2187 cases in the database, 420 cases with air leaks on postoperative day 1 were identified. The intervention group underwent therapeutic interventions, such as pleurodesis or surgery, while the observation group was monitored without intervention. A comparison between the intervention group and the observation group were analyzed using the cumulative distribution and hazard functions.

Forty-six patients (11.0%) were included in the intervention group. The multivariate analysis revealed that low body mass index (p = 0.019), partial resection (p = 0.010), intraoperative use of fibrin glue (p = 0.008), severe air leak on postoperative day 1 (p < 0.001), and high forced expiratory volume in 1 s (p = 0.021) were significant predictors of the requirement for intervention. The proportion of patients with persistent air leak in the observation group was 20% on postoperative day 5 and 94% on postoperative day 7. The hazard of air leak cessation peaked from postoperative day 3 to postoperative day 7.

This research contributes valuable insights into predicting therapeutic interventions for postoperative air leaks and identifies scenarios where spontaneous cessation is probable. A validation through prospective studies is warranted to affirm these findings.