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‡