Percutaneous thoracostomy with thoracic lavage for traumatic hemothorax: a performance improvement initiative.

Objectives: Percutaneously placed small-bore (14 Fr) catheters and pleural lavage have emerged independently as innovative approaches to hemothorax management. This report describes techniques for combining percutaneous thoracostomy with pleural lavage and presents results from a performance improvement series of patients managed with percutaneous thoracostomy with immediate lavage. Methods: This was a prospective performance improvement series of patients treated at a level 1 trauma center with percutaneous thoracostomy and immediate lavage between April 2021 and May 2023. Results: Percutaneous thoracostomy with immediate lavage was used to treat nine hemodynamically normal patients with acute hemothorax. Injuries included both blunt and penetrating mechanisms. 56% of patients presented immediately after injury, and 44% presented in a delayed fashion ranging from 2 to 26 days after injury. Median length of stay was 6 days (IQR 6, 9). Seven patients were discharged home in stable condition, one was discharged to an acute rehabilitation facility, and one was discharged to a skilled nursing facility. Conclusions: Percutaneous thoracostomy with pleural lavage is clinically feasible and effective and warrants further evaluation with a multicenter clinical trial. Level of evidence: Therapeutic/care management, level V.

Brief report on the development of hemorrhagic pericardial effusion after thoracic surgery for traumatic injuries.

Introduction: Hemorrhagic pericardial effusion (HPE) is a rare but life-threatening diagnosis that may occur after thoracic trauma. Previous reports have concentrated on delayed HPE in those who did not require initial surgical intervention for their traumatic injuries. In this report, we identify and characterize the phenomenon of HPE after emergent thoracic surgery for trauma. Methods: This is a retrospective review of patients who required emergent thoracic surgery for trauma at a level 1 trauma center from 2017 to 2021. Using the institutional trauma database, demographics, injury characteristics, and outcomes were compared between patients with HPE and those without HPE after thoracic surgery for trauma. Results: Ninety-one patients were identified who underwent emergent thoracic surgery for trauma. Most were young men who sustained a penetrating thoracic injury. Seven patients (7.7%) went on to develop HPE. Patients who developed HPE were younger (18 vs. 32 years, p=0.034), required bilateral anterolateral thoracotomy (85% vs. 7%, p<0.001), and were more likely to have pulmonary injuries (100% vs. 52.4%, p<0.001). Five patients with HPE survived to hospital discharge. The two patients with HPE who died were both coagulopathic and had HPE diagnosed within 4 days of injury. The median time to HPE diagnosis in survivors was 24 days with four of five HPE survivors on therapeutic anticoagulation at the time of diagnosis. Conclusions: HPE may occur after emergent thoracic surgery for trauma. Those at highest risk of HPE include younger patients with bilateral thoracotomy incisions and pulmonary injuries. Early HPE, clinical signs of tamponade, and/or coagulopathy in patients with HPE portend a worse prognosis. Surgeons and trauma team members caring for patients after emergent thoracic exploration for trauma should be aware of this potentially devastating complication and should consider postoperative echocardiography in high-risk patients.

Open versus percutaneous tube thoracostomy with and without thoracic lavage for traumatic hemothorax: a novel randomized controlled simulation trial.

Objective: To quantify and assess the relative performance parameters of thoracic lavage and percutaneous thoracostomy (PT) using a novel, basic science 2×2 randomized controlled simulation trial. Summary background data: Treatment of traumatic hemothorax (HTX) with open tube thoracostomy (TT) is painful and retained HTX is common. PT is potentially less painful whereas thoracic lavage may reduce retained HTX. Yet, procedural time and the feasibility of combining PT with lavage remain undefined. Methods: A simulated partially clotted HTX (2%-gelatin-saline mixture) was loaded into a TT trainer and then evacuated after randomization to one of four protocols: TT+/-lavage or PT+/-lavage. Standardized inserts with fixed 28-Fr TT or 14-Fr PT positioning were used to minimize tube positioning variability. Lavage consisted of two 500 mL aliquots of warm saline after initial HTX evacuation. The primary outcome was HTX volume evacuated. The secondary outcome was additional procedural time required for the addition of the lavage. Results: A total of 40 simulated HTX trials were randomized. TT alone evacuated a median of 1236 mL (IQR 1168, 1294) leaving a residual volume of 265 mL (IQR 206, 333). PT alone resulted in a significantly greater median residual volume of 588 mL (IQR 497, 646) (p=0.002). Adding lavage resulted in similar residual volumes for TT compared with TT alone but significantly less for PT compared with PT alone (p=0.002). Lavage increased procedural time for TT by a median of 7.0 min (IQR 6.5, 8.0) vs 11.7 min (IQR 10.2, 12.0) for PT (p<0.001). Conclusion: This simulation trial characterized HTX evacuation in a standardized fashion. Adding lavage to thoracostomy placement may improve evacuation, particularly for small-diameter tubes, with little added procedural time. Further prospective clinical study is warranted. Level of evidence: NA.