title: [The benefits of digital chest drainage in pleural decortication in thoracic empyema. Prospective, randomized, control trial].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prolonged air leak after pleural decortication is one of the most frequent complications.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to compare the effects of prolonged air leak between the digital chest drainage (DCD) system and the classic drainage system in patients with empyema class IIB or III (American Thoracic Society classification) in pleural decortication patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 37 patients were enrolled in a prospective randomized control trial over one year, consisting of 2blinded groups, comparing prolonged air leak as a main outcome, the number of days until removal of chest drain, length of hospital stay and complications as secondary outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The percentage of prolonged air leak was 11% in the DCD group and 5% in the classic group (P=0.581); the mean number of days of air leak was 2.5±1.8 and 2.4±2.2, respectively (P=0.966). The mean number of days until chest tube removal was 4.5±1.8 and 5.1±2.5 (P=0.41), the length of hospital stay was 7.8±3.7 and 8.9±4.0 (P=0.441) and the complication percentages were 4 (22%) and 7 (36%), respectively (P=0.227).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, no significant difference was observed when the DCD was compared with the classic system. This was the first randomized clinical trial for this indication; thus, future complementing studies are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cirugía Cardiotorácica, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias INER, Ciudad de México, México. Electronic address: jmmo50@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mier
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cirugía Cardiotorácica, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias INER, Ciudad de México, México.
authors.forename: Gildardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cortés-Julián
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cirugía Cardiotorácica, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias INER, Ciudad de México, México.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berrios-Mejía
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cirugía Cardiotorácica, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias INER, Ciudad de México, México.
authors.forename: Zotés
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Víctor-Valdivia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015505:Chest Tubes; D004322:Drainage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D016724:Empyema, Pleural / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006491:Hemothorax / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010994:Pleura / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D011030:Pneumothorax / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011446:Prospective Studies
keywords: Decorticación; Decortication; Digital chest drainage; Drenaje torácico digital; Fuga aérea prolongada; Prolonged air leak