The application analysis of 8F ultrafine chest drainage tube for thoracoscopic lobectomy of lung cancer

Background Currently, thoracoscopic lobectomy is widely used in clinical practice, and postoperative placement of ultrafine drainage tube has advantages of reducing postoperative pain and accelerating postoperative recovery in patients. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and safety of placement of 8F ultrafine chest drainage tube after thoracoscopic lobectomy and its superiority over traditional 24F chest drainage tube. Methods A retrospective data analysis was conducted in 169 patients who underwent placement of 8F ultrafine chest drainage tube or 24F chest drainage tube with thoracoscopic lobectomy for lung cancer from January 2018 to December 2019. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to reduce bias between the experimental group and the control group. After PSM, 134 patients (67 per group) were enrolled. The drainage time, the total drainage volume, postoperative hospital stay, postoperative pain score and postoperative complication of both groups were analyzed and compared. Results Compared to group B, group A had lower pain scores on postoperative days 1, 2 and 3 (3.72 ± 0.65point vs 3.94 ± 0.67point, P = 0.027; 2.72 ± 0.93point vs 3.13 ± 1.04point, P = 0.016; and 1.87 ± 0.65point vs 2.39 ± 1.22point, P = 0.005), shorter drainage time (4.25 ± 1.79d vs 6.04 ± 1.96d, P = 0.000), fewer drainage volume (1100.42 ± 701.57 ml vs 1369.39 ± 624.25 ml, P = 0.021); and shorter postoperative hospital stay (8.46 ± 2.48d vs 9.37 ± 1.70d, P = 0.014). Postoperative complications such as subcutaneous emphysema, pulmonary infection, atelectasis, chest tube reinsertion and intrathoracic hemorrhage showed no differences between both groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion Compared with 24F chest drainage tube, the application of an 8F ultrafine chest drainage tube after thoracoscopic lobectomy has significantly shortened the drainage time, reduced the total drainage volume, reduced the postoperative pain degree, shortened the hospital day, and effectively detected postoperative intrathoracic hemorrhage. So, it is considered as an effective, safe and reliable drainage method.