Persistent Pleural Effusion Treatment Following Cardiothoracic Surgery by Platelet-Fibrin Glue

Persistent Pleural Effusion Treatment Following Cardiothoracic Surgery by Platelet-Fibrin Glue: A Clinical Trail

Persistent pleural effusion is a life-threatening complication after cardiac surgery. The traditional treatment is chest tube drainage, which may not respond to treatment. This study introduces a new noninvasive approach for treating persistent pleural effusion using platelet-rich plasma fibrin glue (PRP-FG). This method has been successfully applied for the treatment of postoperative persistent chylothorax and pneumothorax in previous studies, which significantly decreased morbidity, mortality, and hospital stay.

This pilot clinical trial recruited 19 patients at Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad, Iran (2023) who had developed unilateral or bilateral refractory postoperative effusion resistant to conventional thoracostomy treatment. Treatment success was defined as effusion <50 ml/day after 48 hours, along with symptomatic improvement and no adverse events.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of pleural effusion after cardiac surgery in open-heart surgery
• patients who sign an informed consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

• Hemodynamically unstable patients
• Patients who did not sign an informed consent form