Comparison of Pleural Drainage Systems on Reducing Pleural Effusion Formation Following Lung Resection

Length of hospital stay after lung surgery depends mainly on duration of chest tube drainage. Patients undergoing lung resection have 1 or 2 chest tubes in the pleural cavity to evacuate air and pleural fluid. Digital drainage systems (recently approved for usage in Canada) offer the advantage of maintaining a stable intrapleural pressure through interactive balancing depending on the needs of the patient. In contrast, the traditional chest tube system offers continuous suctioning and negative pleural pressure, regardless the ongoing needs of the patients. Therefore, usage of digital drainage system (already shown to be beneficial in reducing the duration of air leak after lung resection when compared to the traditional system) may potentially reduce the amount of pleural drainage and hence reduce the duration of chest tube drainage until removal and overall patient's length of stay in hospital.

The following is a proposal for a randomized, controlled trial where patients will be randomized to have either a digital drainage system (intervention group) or non-digital drainage system, a conventional system currently used to drain the pleural space (the control group) after major lung resection for malignancy. The primary outcome of this study is comparing the overall amounts of pleural fluid drainage after major lung resection using two different chest tube drainage systems. Secondary outcomes will include measurement in time (hours) that chest tubes remain in-situ before removal following an operative procedure, and overall reduction in the length of stay (LOS) of patients; 90 days overall mortality and morbidity; occurrence of dyspnea related to the reoccurrence of pleural effusion; clinically significant reintervention needed (thoracocentesis, re-insertion of chest drain(s) and number and type of imaging studies required which are related to potential re-accumulation of pleural effusion); readmission rates within 1 month of discharge; comparison of pleural fluid/plasma protein ratio and inflammatory mediators (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-1RA, TNF-α) between the two groups, a potential indicator for differences in pleural inflammation and permeability between the two groups.

Inclusion criteria

• Participants must be between 18 and 90 years of age
• Diagnosed with suspected lung cancer or metastatic cancer to the lungs
• Surgery must include lung resection (Wedge; single or multiple, lobectomy or bi-lobectomy) and mediastinal lymph nodes sampling or dissection
• Demonstrate an ability for understanding the study procedures
• Demonstrate willingness to remain on-study for the complete duration
• Must be able to give informed consent to participate at this study.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients undergoing lung resection due to non-malignancy
• Patients undergoing pneumonectomy
• Patients treated with neo-adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiation prior to surgery
• Patients with previous lung resection on the ipsilateral side
• Patients with evidence of chronic heart failure (i.e. NYHA class III, IV; current treatment with diuretics for heart failure, and/or LVEF <35%)
• Patients with chronic renal failure (i.e. estimated CCr of < 50ml/min/m2)
• Patients with history of or ongoing liver disease, expressed by ascites or previous peritoneal tapping for ascites.