Zero-leak prediction during major lung resection aiming for minimal chest drainage duration: a retrospective analysis

Table 2 Surgical outcomes and postoperative measurements

Variable	Overall (n = 485)	ALE-absent (n = 276)	ALE-present (n = 209)	p value
Water sealing test^a				< 0.001^d
Air bubble (–)	284 (59%)	187 (68%)	97 (46%)
Air bubble (+)	201 (41%)	89 (32%)	112 (54%)
PGA sheet used^a	286 (59%)	155 (56%)	131 (63%)	0.15^d
Fibrin glue used^a	119 (25%)	45 (16%)	74 (35%)	< 0.001^d
Fibrin and PGA sheet used^a	110 (23%)	41 (15%)	69 (33%)	< 0.001^d
Operation time [min]^c	192 (68)	182 (64)	205 (73)	< 0.001^f
Bleeding [mL]^b	53 (72)	43 (55)	65 (88)	0.001^e
Chest tube removal [POD]^c	1 (1)	1 (0)	2 (2)	< 0.001^f
PAL present^a	13 (2.7%)	0 (0%)	13 (6.2%)	< 0.001^d
Pleurodesis required^a	33 (6.8%)	0 (0%)	33 (16%)	< 0.001^d
Re-intervention required^a	2 (0.4%)	0 (0%)	2 (1.0%)	0.19^d
Discharge [POD]^c	4 (2)	4 (2)	5 (2)	< 0.001^f

^an (%). ^bMean (SD). ^cMedian (IQR). ^dFisher’s exact test. ^eWelch Two Sample t-test. ^fMann-Whitney U test. PGA polyglycolic acid, POD postoperative days, PAL prolonged air leak (> 5th POD); Re-intervention, reoperation or chest tube re-insertion required to manage pleural fistula

ISSN: 1749-8090