The safety and feasibility of same-day discharge for the management of patients undergoing pulmonary lobectomy

Y L Zheng; C C Wang; L D Jin; X Y Liang; W S Ye; R S Huang

doi:10.1016/j.pulmoe.2023.12.001

The safety and feasibility of same-day discharge for the management of patients undergoing pulmonary lobectomy

Pulmonology. 2024 Jan 4:S2531-0437(23)00239-8. doi: 10.1016/j.pulmoe.2023.12.001. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Y L Zheng¹, C C Wang¹, L D Jin¹, X Y Liang¹, W S Ye¹, R S Huang²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Dingli Clinical College of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou Central Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shanghai University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
² Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Dingli Clinical College of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou Central Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shanghai University, Wenzhou 325000, China. Electronic address: hrs9900@wmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38182473
DOI: 10.1016/j.pulmoe.2023.12.001

Abstract

Objectives: Is same-day discharge mode safe and feasible for thoracoscopic lobectomy? This study assesses the safety and feasibility of same-day discharge for patients undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study from January to December 2022, all patients undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy were screened for eligibility, and participating eligible patients were separated into a same-day discharge lobectomy (SDDL) group and an inpatient lobectomy (InpL) group based upon length of stay. All discharged patients underwent 30-day postoperative follow-up performed by a team of medical professionals. In addition, eligible patients that underwent thoracoscopic lobectomy from January to December 2021 were included in the historical lobectomy (HisL) group.

Results: Of the 52 patients that met the eligibility criteria for same-day discharge, 17 were discharged within 24 h after surgery. In the SDDL group, of whom 1 (5.9%) underwent emergency treatment and readmission within 30 days after surgery due to a pulmonary infection, no patients experienced complications such as reoperation, air leakage, atelectasis, chylothorax, or blood transfusion events during the follow-up period. No differences in overall postoperative complication rates were detected between the SDDL and InpL groups (P>0.05), there was a non-significantly higher rate of readmission and emergency visits in the SDDL group relative to the other two groups (P>0.05).

Conclusions: These results emphasize the safety and feasibility of same-day discharge for patients undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy, it may further revolutionize the general approach to the hospitalization of thoracoscopic lobectomy patients.

Keywords: Lobectomy; Lung cancer; Same-day discharge; Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.