Efficacy and safety of argon plasma coagulation plus medical adhesive via thoracoscopy in the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax with subpleural blebs

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the preliminary efficacy and safety of argon plasma coagulation (APC) plus medical adhesive via thoracoscopy in the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax caused by subpleural blebs. Methods: Data of totally 51 patients of spontaneous pneumothorax with subpleural blebs treated in Pneumology Department of Rizhao Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from July 2015 to July 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Among the 51 patients, 59 target bullae were found, 1.2 per patient on average, with the diameter ranging from 0.5 to 5 cm and an average diameter of 2.6 cm. A total of 21 patients were treated with APC, and the rest 30 were treated with APC plus partially sprayed medical adhesive (APC+ group). The rate of air leakage discontinuance within 24 hours after operation, the rate of air leakage discontinuance within one week after operation, the disappearance rate of target subpleural blebs on CT scans one week after operation, and the rate of significantly shrunken target subpleural blebs and wall thickness, as well as the incidence of postoperative complications, including fever, chest pain, pleural effusion, hemorrhage, and infection after operation were observed and compared between the two groups. Results: The air leakage discontinuance rate in APC+ group was significantly higher than that in APC group 24 hours after operation (90.0% vs 52.4%, P<0.05), and the rate in APC+ group was also significantly higher than that in APC group one week after operation (96.7% vs 66.8%, P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the disappearance rate of target subpleural blebs on CT scans one week after operation and the incidence of significantly shrunken target subpleural blebs and wall thickness (both P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complications such as fever, chest pain and pleural effusion (all P>0.05). Conclusion: The treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax with subpleural blebs by APC plus medical adhesive is safe and effective.