Hemothorax following lung transplantation: incidence, risk factors, and effect on morbidity and mortality

• Published in: Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine 2016-11, Vol.11 (1), p.40-40, Article 40
• Main Authors: Hong, Aria, King, Christopher S, Brown, A Whitney Walter, Ahmad, Shahzad, Shlobin, Oksana A, Khandhar, Sandeep, Bogar, Linda, Rongione, Anthony, Nathan, Steven D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Complications and side effects; Hemothorax; Lungs; Original; Patient outcomes; Risk factors; Transplantation
• ISSN: 1828-695X; 2049-6958; 2049-6958
• DOI: 10.1186/s40248-016-0075-y

Hemothorax after lung transplantation may result in increased post-operative morbidity and mortality. Risk factors for developing hemothorax and the outcomes of patients who develop hemothorax have not been well studied. A retrospective chart review was performed on all patients who underwent lung transplantation at a single center between March 2009 and July 2014. Comparison was made between patients with and without hemothorax post-transplant. There were 132 lung transplantations performed during the study period. Hemothorax was a complication in 17 (12.9 %) patients, occurring an average of 9 days after transplant. No difference was found between the hemothorax and non-hemothorax groups with respect to age, preoperative anticoagulation, lung allocation score, prior thoracotomy, coagulation profile, use of cardiopulmonary bypass, ischemic time, or postoperative P/F ratio. There was a trend towards a higher incidence of hemothorax in patients with underlying sarcoidosis and re-transplantation (  = 0.13 and 0.17, respectively). Hemothorax developed early (