Table 1
Outcomes following primary surgical thoracotomy with pleural debridement, stiff drain insertion, or pigtail drain insertion
| Number of days (geometric mean) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | p value | |
| *ANOVA; †Fisher’s exact test; ‡χ2 test. | ||||
| Symptoms before procedure | 16.9 | 8.5 | 11.2 | 0.02* |
| Hospital before procedure | 2.6 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 0.9* |
| Drain in situ | 5.0 | 11.5 | 4.9 | 0.002* |
| Patient afebrile | 2.4 | 10.7 | 4.1 | 0.002* |
| Patient improved | 2.5 | 6.9 | 1.8 | 0.02* |
| Procedure to discharge | 6.9 | 15.3 | 5.6 | 0.002* |
| Secondary thoracotomy | 6/7 | 0/9 | 0.001† | |
| Drain adjust/replace | 2/7 | 6/7 | 2/9 | 0.05‡ |
