Comparison of Length of Postoperative Hospital Stay in Pulmonary Resection Patients With and Without Autologous Fibrin Sealant: a Retrospective Descriptive Study

Abstract

Prolonged air leak and excessive pleural fluid drainage are important factors affecting morbidity and mortality following pulmonary resection. This study investigated the effects of autologous fibrin sealant on length of hospital stay in patients who underwent pulmonary resection. A total of 90 patients who underwent lobectomy or bilobectomy in our center were included in the study. Thirty-seven of the patients were treated with autologous fibrin sealant after resection, while the other 53 patients were not (control group). The patients’ records were retrospectively examined to compare demographic, surgical, and postoperative data between the groups. There were no significant differences between the autologous fibrin sealant group and the control group in terms of age, sex, type of operation, indications for surgery, or preexisting comorbidities (p > 0.05). Mean time to drain removal and mean postoperative time to hospital discharge were significantly shorter in the autologous fibrin sealant group (p = 0.0001). Our results indicate that using autologous fibrin sealant decreases the time to drain removal as well as length of postoperative hospital stay.