WEDNESDAY, Dec. 13, 2023 (HealthDay News) — For patients undergoing pulmonary lobectomy, a digital air leak detection device can speed the identification of chest tube air leak cessation, according to a study published in the Dec. 1 issue of Critical Care Nurse.

Carla Patel, A.P.R.N., from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues examined whether a digital air leak detection device could speed the identification of chest tube air leak cessation after pulmonary lobectomy in 25 consecutive patients who continued to have a chest tube air leak on postoperative day 3. Chest tube duration and hospital length of stay were compared for patients with digital devices and 259 patients with traditional analog air leak detection devices (historical data from the previous two years).

The researchers found that compared with patients with traditional analog devices, median chest tube duration and hospital stay were one day less for those with digital devices, with a cost savings of $2,659 per hospital day. These reductions helped with the development of an algorithm for chest tube management.

“Implementing a standardized protocol for a targeted patient population can help use resources more effectively,” the authors write. “As this evidence-based practice project demonstrated, employment of a digital air leak detection device in patients who have undergone pulmonary lobectomy can remove interobserver variability and lead to quicker recognition of air leak cessation, earlier chest tube removal, a decrease in hospital length of stay, and a lowering of overall cost.”

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