Contemporary Chest Drain Practice After Pulmonary Resection: A Multicentre Registry Study of Drain Strategy, Outcomes, and Centre-Level Variation
This multicenter registry study of 3,348 pulmonary resection patients found that chest drain management is significantly associated with postoperative outcomes. Larger chest drains were independently associated with a lower risk of prolonged air leak, while digital drainage systems were linked to higher detection of prolonged air leaks but shorter hospital stays. Marked variation in drain size, digital drain use, and air leak rates existed across centers, highlighting the need for evidence-based standardization of chest drain strategies and informing future pragmatic clinical trials.
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