Surgical Treatment of Bronchopleural Fistulas on the Background of Pleural Empyema

Abstract

Pleural empyema (EP) is one of the most complex nosologies of thoracic surgery. Mortality in this disease reaches 28% according to the literature. The causes of the development of nonspecific empyema of the pleura are various purulent-destructive lung diseases, as well as inflammatory diseases, surgical interventions and injuries. The presence or absence of bronchopleural fistula (BPS) is crucial in determining the prognosis of treatment of pleural empyema. This article is devoted to the study of the issues of surgical treatment of BPS against the background of various EP variants. Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of using fibrin glue as a regeneration stimulator in the treatment of patients with bronchopleural fistulas on the background of pleural empyema. Materials and methods. In the I. V. Davydovsky State Clinical Hospital No. 23, for the treatment of patients with EP complicated by the development of bronchopleural fistula, an integrated approach is used using the concept of biological stimulation of tissue repair through the use of fibrin glue obtained by cryoprecipitation. Results. Our experience based on the study of 136 patients with pleural empyema of various etiologies (post-pneumonic (n=76), post-resection (n=11), covid-associated (n=49)) shows encouraging results. The clinical efficacy of using fibrin glue as a stimulator of tissue repair was 91,89% in the group of post-pneumonic EP, 66,66% in the group of post-resection EP and 90,9% in the group of covid-associated EP. However, the results obtained require further analysis and study.Conclusion. Despite the achievements of recent decades in antibiotic therapy, the improvement of surgical techniques and new minimally invasive methods of treatment, the problem of the development of bronchopleural fistulas remains relevant to this day. Knowledge of the issues of pathogenesis, risk factors, as well as the improvement of therapeutic tactics in the development of this formidable complication will increase the effectiveness of treatment and improve the prognosis of this category of patients. The use of biological stimulators of tissue repair based on own blood plasma may be a promising direction of treatment of this complex pathology.