Application of drainage strategy with bi-pigtail catheters in patients undergoing lobectomy by uniportal...

There are no standard guidelines regarding the number and size of chest tubes that should be selected after thoracic surgery. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of adopting a drainage strategy with bi-pigtail catheters (BPCs) on patients undergoing lobectomy by uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS).

A retrospective study was performed of patients undergoing uniportal lobectomy at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the Cancer Hospital of Dalian University of Technology between August 2021 and August 2022. The patients were divided into the following two groups according to the drainage strategy adopted: (I) a traditional chest tube (TCT) group; and (II) a BPC group. The outcomes measured included postoperative complications, as measured by the Clavien-Dindo method, and the visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores of the patients after surgery.

In total, 868 patients underwent lung resection during the study period, after exclusion, the data of 470 patients who underwent uniport lobectomy were reviewed (235 in the TCT group, and 235 in the BPC group). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of baseline data (P>0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications (7.7% vs. 19.1%) and postoperative VAS pain scores at 7-24 hours (3.3±1.0 vs. 3.7±1.5) and 25-48 hours (3.1±0.8 vs. 3.6±1.5) were significantly lower in the BPC group than the TCT group (all P<0.001). Additionally, the postoperative length of stay (4.6±1.5 vs. 5.4±4.5 days) and the collapse rate of the residual lung (19.2%±9.1% vs. 20.9%±9.6%) of the BPC group were better than those of the TCT group (P<0.05). The results of univariable and multivariable analyses showed that a drainage strategy with a TCT was an independent risk factor for decreased postoperative complications, and reduced moderate or severe pain scores at 7-24 and 25-48 hours after surgery.

Our drainage strategy with BPCs decreased the incidence of postoperative complications and alleviated the postoperative pain of patients undergoing lobectomy by uniportal VATS and is safe and feasible.