| Title: | The utility of intra-operative bronchoalveolar lavage in thoracic surgery |
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| Author(s): | G.Qsous MD , DG.Healy MD |
| Institution: | Cardiothoracic Department - St. Vincent University Hospital |
| Poster: | Click to view poster |
| Category: | Lung Cancer/CF/ILD/Surgery |
| Abstract: | Objective : Chest infection is one of the most common complications after thoracic surgery, we aim to investigate the usefulness of intra-operative bronchoalveolar washing to help decrease the rate of postoperative chest infection and predict the causative microorganism. Methods : This is a retrospective study including one hundred patients who underwent different thoracic surgeries in St. Vincent University Hospital from June 2013 to March 2020. All patients underwent intra-operative bronchoalveolar lavage before beginning the surgery. Also, a bronchial washing sample was sent for microbiological analysis. Results : One hundred patients were included in our study. There were 39 males and 61 females, with a mean age of 61 years. Out of 100 surgery, there were 16 cases performed by open thoracotomy, 13 robotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgery ( RATS ) and 71 cases with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery ( VATS ). Additionally, there were 53 cases as primary lung cancer, 16 cases as secondary lung cancer (metastasis) and 31 benign cases. Chest infection was noticed in 11 patients ( 11% ). Out of these 11 patients, there were 8 patients (73% )have a positive culture from the bronchoalveolar washing. The mean duration of postoperative hospital stay was 5.6 days. Conclusion : Adopting the intra-operative bronchoalveolar lavage in thoracic surgery can decrease the rate of chest infection and predict the causative microorganism. Consequently, that leads to a decrease in the length of hospital stay. Keywords: Bronchoalveolar lavage, chest infection, thoracic surgery. |
