Table 2.
Comparison of the clinical characteristics of patients with or without spontaneous resolution of pulmonary air leak within the first five postoperative days
| Factor | SR | PAL | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex (Male/Female) | 42/11 | 30/7 | 0.83 |
| Age | 68 (63–72) | 69 (64–73) | 0.562 |
| BMI | 22.1 (19.0–23.9) | 20.2 (18.8-23.9) | 0.234 |
| Smoking Index | 880 (345–1600) | 940 (600–1600) | |
| Never/Ever smoker | 9/44 | 5/32 | 0.655 |
| Diabetes (Yes/No) | 7/46 | 9/28 | 0.174 |
| FEV1.0% | 72.8 (66.0–79.1) | 70.8 (63.0–77.2) | 0.325 |
| DLCO% | 92.7 (77.0–114.9) | 84.4 (70.8–102.4) | 0.219 |
| COPD/IP (Yes/No) | 29/24 | 24/13 | 0.336 |
| Operative procedure (upper or bilobectomy/other) | 35/18 | 23/14 | 0.706 |
| Pleural Adhesion (major/minor or no) | 7/46 | 7/30 | 0.462 |
| Repair air leak during operation | |||
| No | 9 | 3 | 0.008 |
| PGA sheet or suture | 23 | 7 | |
| Both PGA and suture | 21 | 27 | |
| Fibrin glue during operation (Yes/No) | 48/5 | 35/2 | 0.483 |
| Air leak at first postoperative day | |||
| Forced expiratory only | 23 | 13 | 0.006 |
| Expiratory only | 28 | 14 | |
| Continuous | 2 | 10 | |
| Duration of air leak (days) | 3 (2–4) | 7 (6–10) | <0.001 |
| Duration of drainage (days) | 5 (4–6) | 10 (7–16) | <0.001 |
| Drainage amount in 5 days (ml) | 1105 (849–1485) | 1207 (1014–1542) | 0.493 |
| Plasma FXIII activity (%) | |||
| Before operation | 104 (86–135) | 111 (95–132) | 0.678 |
| Postoperative day 5 | 74 (60–87) | 78 (68–103) | 0.124 |
| Decrease ratio (%) | 33 (18–45) | 22 (7–36) | 0.044 |
Results are expressed as median and interquartile range.
Abbreviations: FXIII factor XIII, SR spontaneous resolution group, PAL prolonged air leak (>5 days) group, BMI body mass index, PGA polyglycolic acid.