Original articleGeneral thoracicEndoscopic One-Way Valve Implantation in Patients With Prolonged Air Leak and the Use of Digital Air Leak Monitoring
Section snippets
Patients
Nineteen consecutive patients were evaluated between May 2010 and May 2012. Patients included in the study had to demonstrate persistent continuous air leak, defined as intrathoracic chest tube duration for more than 7 days despite conservative therapy, surgical therapy, or both, with an air leak flow of at least 100 mL/min. Patients referred for evaluation of endoscopic treatment were considered not to be good surgical candidates because of high comorbidities or previous failed surgical
Results
Three patients with intermittent air leak were excluded, leaving 16 patients with evidence of continuous air leakage flow (Fig 1). Table 1 illustrates the patient characteristics, including results of lung function tests. The majority of patients were smokers, with a high prevalence of comorbid disease.
Table 2 provides information on the underlying causes of the prolonged air leaks, prior interventions, average duration of chest tube placement before and after bronchoscopy, and target sites of
Comment
Treatment of prolonged air leaks with endobronchial one-way valves is feasible, is safe, and resulted in successful treatment and reduction of air leakage flow in the majority of patients included in this report.
Patients with prolonged air leaks are at an increased risk of morbidity and mortality in as high as 70% [2]. A variety of risk factors may contribute to prolonged air leaks, including preexisting lung disease, steroid use, prior radiochemotherapy, malnutrition, diabetes, or a
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