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

Completed

• Conditions: Pulmonary Air Leak
• Interventions: Procedure: Chest tube removal

• Registration Number: NCT01467622
• Lead Sponsor: Schillerhoehe Hospital

Brief Summary

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.

Detailed Description

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 Timeline

• Study Start: 2009-04
• Primary Completion: 2009-08
• Study Completion: 2011-10
• Study First Submitted: 2011-10-30
• Study First Submitted QC: 2011-11-04
• Study First Posted: 2011-11-09
• Status Verified: 2013-05
• Last Update Submitted: 2013-05-06
• Last Update Posted: 2013-05-07

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 80

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

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Study population	Chest tube removal	Patients undergoing elective pulmonary wedge resection, anatomic segmentectomy, or lobectomy.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
chest tube therapy duration	participants are followed for the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 5 days	number of days following thoracic surgery until chest tube was removed

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
presence of pulmonary air leak	participants are followed for the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 4 days	number of days the Medela Thopaz device detected a pulmonary air leak following thoracic surgery

Trial Locations

Locations (4)

Evangelische Lungenklinik Berlin; 🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany

Klinikum Bremen-Ost gGmbH; 🇩🇪 Bremen, Germany

Klinik Schillerhoehe; 🇩🇪 Gerlingen, Germany

Katholisches Klinikum Koblenz; 🇩🇪 Koblenz, Germany