Initial experience with a synthetic sealant PleuraSeal™ after pulmonary resections: a prospective study with retrospective case matched controls

Table 4 Post-operative complications and outcome

Variable^a	Overall	PleuraSeal™ Group	Control Group	p-value^b
	40	20	20
Duration of chest tube (d) ^c, mean (SD)
Ventral chest tube removal (air leak)		2.1 (1.2)	3.9 (3.3)	*0.03*
Dorsal chest tube removal (drainage)		5.1 (4.0)	5.2 (3.4)	0.94
Chest tube on suction (h) ^cmean (SD)		22.9 (1.8)	49.7 (28.2)	*<0.001*
Limiting factor for chest tube removal
Air leakage	8 (20%)	1 (5%)	7 (35%)	*0.04*
Drainage	32 (80%)	19 (95%)	13 (65%)	0.94
Total # of postoperative complications ^d	21 (52.5%)	10 (50%)	11 (55%)	1.000
Bronchogenic fistula	1 (2.5%)	0 (0%)	1 (5%)
Chylothorax	3 (7.5%)	2 (10%)	1 (5%)
Pneumonia	6 (15%)	4 (20%)	2 (10%)
Mechanical Ventilation/ARDS	1 (2.5%)	0 (0%)	1 (5%)
Tachyarrhythmia absoluta	5 (12.5%)	3 (15%)	2 (10%)
Postoperative severe pain	4 (10%)	1 (5%)	3 (15%)
Others^e	1 (2.5%)	0 (0%)	1 (5%)
Length of stay(days) ^c
Potential hospitalization		8.2 (4.6)	10.3 (5.5)	0.205
Actual hospitalization		9.9 (3.7)	11.7 (4.4)	0.178

^aNumbers in percentage were rounded up were indicated.
^bContinuous variables were compared between groups by Students' T-test. Categoric variables were assessed by two-tailed Pearson's Chi square test.
^cData shown as mean with standard deviation (SD)
^d# total number of events
^eOther complications: acute esophagitis.

ISSN: 1749-8090