Outcomes of early fiberoptic bronchoscopic sputum aspiration and lavage after thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy

According to a recent study, early fiberoptic bronchoscopic sputum aspiration and lavage after thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy can improve patient outcomes. This study was published in the Journal of cardiothoracic surgery.

This prospective, randomized clinical trial enrolled 106 patients, who were scheduled for thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy due to esophageal cancer. The participants were assigned to either the control group (n=53) which consisted of traditional postoperative care or study group (n=53), which included traditional postoperative care with early bronchoscopic sputum aspiration and lavage. The study outcomes were length of hospital stay, medical expenses, and postoperative complications.

At the end of the study, it was found that length of hospital stay was shorter and the medical expenses were lower during hospitalization in the study group when compared to the control group. Moreover, the incidences of overall complications in study group were also fewer than the control group.

From the above results, it can be concluded that early fiberoptic bronchoscopic sputum aspiration and lavage after thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy may result in shorter length of hospital stay, lower medical expense, and fewer incidence of postoperative complications.