Postsurgical pleurodesis with autologous blood in patients with persistent air leak

Autologous blood patching in the management of broncho-pleural fistula in spontaneous pneumothorax

“…5 Many subsequent authors have described its use in management of PAL after pulmonary resections and after hydatid cyst operations [6][7][8][9] The success of ABP has been varied in reported literature with success rate as low as 27% and also upto72-100%. [10][11][12] We conducted this study to evaluate the success rate of ABP in a large population of patients with BPF of spontaneous onset.…”

Surgical Management of Prolonged Air Leak in Patients with Underlying Emphysema

“…A variety of agents have been described for this purpose, including silver nitrate(100), quinacrine(101), minocycline(102), tetracycline (103), doxycycline(104), erythromycin (105), bleomycin (106), iodopovidone(107), talc powder (14) and autologous blood (108)(109)(110)(111). Be that as it may, contemporary literature has mainly focused on autologous blood for treatment of persistent post-operative air leaks, so the utility of the other agents for this clinical context are not as well known.…”

“…Several small observational studies have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of autologous blood in treating post-operative prolonged air leak (108)(109)(110). In these studies, patients with prolonged air leak (>5-10 days) after undergoing a variety of operations (lobectomy, wedge resection, bullectomy, lung volume reduction or decortication) were treated with 1-2 injections of autologous blood pleurodesis with resolution of air leak in all patients within 48 hours of therapy.…”

Autologous blood pleurodesis for pneumothorax complicating graft-versus-host disease-related bronchiolitis obliterans

“…In previous studies, varying volumes of autologous blood were instilled via a thoracostomy tube, ranging from 50 to 250 ml, given on one to three occasions. 10 It has been recommended that autologous blood should be given as few times as possible to obtain the required result, but if a satisfactory seal is not obtained within 48 h then a further dose should be administered. 10 In our case, volumes of 100 and 80 ml were used with no problems.…”

“…10 It has been recommended that autologous blood should be given as few times as possible to obtain the required result, but if a satisfactory seal is not obtained within 48 h then a further dose should be administered. 10 In our case, volumes of 100 and 80 ml were used with no problems. It would appear to be a simple, effective and inexpensive method of treating a potentially frustrating and recurrent complication of BO without serious side effects, and thus avoiding further surgical and anaesthetic intervention.…”