Learning curve of CT-guided localization with medical glue for single pulmonary nodule before video-assisted thoracic surgery / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

@#Objective    To evaluate the learning curve of CT-guided medical glue localization for pulmonary nodule before video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Methods    The clinical data of the patients with pulmonary nodules who underwent CT-guided medical glue localization before VATS in our hospital from July 2018 to March 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into 3 groups a group A (from July 2018 to August 2019), a group B (from September 2019 to June 2020) and a group C (from July 2020 to March 2021). The localization time, morbidity, complete resection rate and other indexes were compared among the three groups. Results    A total of 77 patients were enrolled, including 24 males and 53 females aged 57.4±10.1 years. There were 25 patients in the group A, 21 patients in the group B, and 31 patients in the group C. 77 pulmonary nodules were localized. There was no significant difference among the groups in the basic data (P>0.05). The localization time in the group C was 10.6±2.0 min, which was statistically shorter than that in the group A (15.4±4.4 min) and group B (12.9±4.3 min) (P<0.01). The incidence of complications in the group C was lower than that in the group A and group B (25.8% vs. 52.0% vs. 47.6%, P=0.04). The success rate of localization of the three groups was not statistically different (P=0.12). Conclusion    There is a learning curve in CT-guided medical glue localization for single pulmonary nodule before VATS. After the first 46 cases, the operation time can be shortened, and the incidence of complications can be decreased.