Postsurgical pleurodesis with autologous blood in patients with persistentair leak

Background. Persistent air leak after operation on the lung is one of the m ost common problems encountered by thoracic surgeons. We present 6 patients who underwent pleurodesis with autologous blood for persistent air leak af ter operation. Methods. Between Tune 1993 and January 1998, pleurodesis with autologous bl ood was performed in 6 patients who had air leak of more than 10 days' dura tion after operation for non-small cell lung cancer. A sample of peripheral blood was taken from the patient's arm and immediately introduced into the chest tube with no additives. The chest tube was left unclamped and off su ction, connected to the waterseal drainage, and kept 60 cm above the patien t's chest. The next day, the waterseal and chest roentgenogram were reviewe d before the chest tube was removed. Results. A persistent air leak with a mean duration of 16.7 days was observ ed after the initial operation. Fifty to 250 mL of blood was introduced one time into the chest tube. No patient experienced pain, respiratory difficu lty, fever, or episodes of coughing during the procedure. After 24 hours, n o air leak was detected in the waterseal drainage in any patient. Conclusions. On the basis of these preliminary findings, we believe pleurod esis with autologous blood is a safe and effective method for treating pers istent air leak after a thoracic surgical procedure. (Ann Thorac Surg 2000; 70:270-2) (C) 2000 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.