• K Pawelczyk, M Marciniak, G Kacprzak, and J Kolodziej.
• Department of Thoracic Surgery, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland. kopaw@wp.pl
• Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2007 Aug 1; 55 (5): 313-6.

BackgroundThe conventional method of double chest tube drainage after lobectomy is well established. The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of the two-drain versus the single-drain approach after this procedure.MethodsThe data of 183 consecutive patients who underwent lobectomy between January 2000 and May 2005 were analyzed: 93 had two drains and 90 had a single, midposition drain. All patients were operated on by one surgeon with the same surgical technique.ResultsPatients with one drain had a shorter hospital stay (7.6 days vs. 9.0 days; P = 0.001). There were no significant differences in the amount of drainage, the necessity of redrainage or broncho-aspiration, and postoperative mortality or complications. The period in which opioids (4.8 days vs. 5.6 days; P = 0.0001) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (6.8 days vs. 7.7 days; P = 0.002) were required was shorter in patients with one drain. The fourth postoperative day was more painful for patients with a double drain. The cost savings in the one-drain group were approximately 125 Euros per patient.ConclusionA single-drain method is effective, reduces hospitalization times and the cost of treatment in patients who undergo lobectomy.

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