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OBJECTIVES Although video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) has shortened hospitalization duration for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, the factors associated with early discharge remain unclear. This study aimed to identify patients eligible for a 72-h stay after VATS anatomical resection. METHODS Monocentric retrospective study including all consecutive patients undergoing VATS anatomical resection for NSCLC between February 2010 and December 2019. Two groups were defined according to the discharge: ‘early discharge’ (within 72 postoperative hours) and ‘routine discharge’ (at >72 postoperative hours). RESULTS A total of 660 patients with a median age of 66.5 years (interquartile range 60–73 years) (female/male: 321/339) underwent VATS anatomical pulmonary resection for NSCLC [segmentectomy in 169 (25.6%), lobectomy in 481 (72.9%), bilobectomy in 8 (1.2%) and pneumonectomy in 2 (0.3%) patients]. The cardiopulmonary and Clavien–Dindo III–IV postoperative complication rates were 32.6% and 7.7%, respectively. The median postoperative length of stay was 6 days (interquartile range 4–10 days). In total, 119 patients (18%) could be discharged within 72 h of surgery. On multivariable analysis, the factors significantly associated with an increased likelihood of early discharge were: body mass index >20 kg/m2 [odds ratio (OR) 2.37], absence of prior cardiopathy (OR 2), diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide >60% (OR 1.82), inclusion in an enhanced recovery after surgery protocol (OR 2.23), use of a single chest tube (OR 5.73) and postoperative transfer to the ward (OR 4.84). Factors significantly associated with a decreased likelihood of early discharge were: age >60 years (OR 0.53), American Society of Anaesthesiologists score >2 (OR 0.46) and use of an epidural catheter (OR 0.41). Readmission rates were not statistically different between both groups (5.9% vs 3.1%; P = 0.17). CONCLUSIONS Age, pulmonary functions and comorbidities may influence discharge after VATS anatomical resection. The early discharge does not increase readmission rates.

OBJECTIVES A lung retransplant has been shown to be a valid option in selected patients with chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD). However, a subgroup of patients may require, in addition to invasive mechanical ventilation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as a bridge to a retransplant. Overall and CLAD-free survival after ECMO-bridged retransplants are compared to first transplants with and without bridging ECMO and to retransplants without bridging ECMO. METHODS We reported a retrospective, single-institution experience based on a prospective data set of all patients undergoing lung transplants between January 2004 and December 2016 with a mean follow-up of 51 ± 41 months. RESULTS A total of 230 patients (96 men, 134 women, mean age 47.3 years) had lung transplants: 200 had first transplants without bridging ECMO; 13 had first transplants with bridging ECMO; 11 had retransplants without bridging ECMO; and 6 had retransplants with bridging ECMO. The 3- and 5-year survival rates were 81%/76%, 68%/68%, 69%/46% and 50%/25%, respectively. There was no significant difference in overall survival between those who had first transplants with and without bridging ECMO or retransplants without bridging ECMO. In contrast, patients undergoing ECMO-bridged retransplants had a significantly lower overall survival rate than those with a first transplant without bridging ECMO (P = 0.007). In addition, the post-transplant CLAD-free survival curves varied significantly among the 4 treatment groups (P = 0.041), paralleling overall survival. CONCLUSIONS Patients requiring ECMO as a bridge to a retransplant had lower overall and CLAD-free survival rates compared to those who had a first transplant with and without bridging ECMO and a retransplant without bridging ECMO.

OBJECTIVES Volatile anaesthetics can provide significant protection against reperfusion injury in various experimental settings. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of sevoflurane treatment, the most commonly used volatile anaesthetic in modern anaesthesia, in rat lungs donated after circulatory death and reconditioned in an ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) system. METHODS Fifteen rats were sacrificed and divided into 3 groups. In the control and sevoflurane groups, the heart-lung blocks were exposed to 1 h of warm ischaemia and 2 h of cold ischaemia and were mounted on an EVLP circuit for 3 h, in the absence or in the presence of 2% sevoflurane. In the baseline group, heart-lung blocks were harvested immediately after euthanasia. Physiological data, lung nitro-oxidative stress, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), expression of cytokines, oedema and histopathological findings were assessed during or post-EVLP. RESULTS The sevoflurane group showed significantly reduced LDH (8.82 ± 3.58 arbitrary unit vs 3.80 ± 3.02 arbitrary unit, P = 0.03), protein carbonyl (1.17 ± 0.44 nmol⋅mg−1 vs 0.55 ± 0.11 nmol⋅mg−1, P = 0.006), 3-nitrotyrosine (197.44 ± 18.47 pg⋅mg−1 vs 151.05 ± 23.54 pg⋅mg−1, P = 0.004), cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant factor 1 (1.17 ± 0.32 ng⋅mg−1 vs 0.66 ± 0.28 ng⋅mg−1, P = 0.03) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (1.50 ± 0.59 vs 0.59 ± 0.38 ng⋅mg−1, P = 0.02) when compared with the control group. In addition, sevoflurane lungs gained significantly less weight (0.72 ± 0.09 g vs 0.72 ± 0.09 g, P = 0.044), had less perivascular oedema (0.58 ± 0.09 vs 0.47 ± 0.07, P = 0.036), and improved static pulmonary compliance (+0.215 ml⋅cmH2O−1, P = 0.003) and peak airways pressure (-1.33 cmH2O, P = 0.04) but similar oxygenation capacity (+1.61 mmHg, P = 0.77) and pulmonary vascular resistances (+0.078 mmHg⋅min⋅ml−1, P = 0.15) when compared with the control group. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the potential of sevoflurane in protecting the lungs donated after cardiac death and reconditioned using EVLP could improve the outcome of these lungs following subsequent transplantation.

Superior vena cava (SVC) clamping can be required during thoracic surgery for SVC replacement or repair. In such cases, bypass techniques can be necessary to avoid hemodynamic instability, cerebral venous hypertension and hypoperfusion. Here, we report a novel and simple SVC bypass technique which does not require full systemic heparinization, specialized cannulation techniques or pumping devices and which can be applied percutaneously in the preoperative phase or intraoperatively. The preoperative shunt consisted in two Swan-Ganz catheters inserted in the jugular and femoral veins and connected by perfusion tubing with a three way stopcock. The intraoperative shunt consisted of a Pruitt(®)-catheter inserted in the left innominate vein and connected to a femoral Swan-Ganz catheter by perfusion tubing. We validated our system in seven patients undergoing SVC reconstruction. We monitored the systemic arterial blood pressures, the heart rate and vasoactive peptide requirements throughout the procedure. We also determined the neurological status and the in-hospital morbidity and mortality for each patient. Using this bypass, SVC clamping caused no hemodynamic instability, no neurological impairments and no in-hospital complications or deaths. This simple temporary SVC bypass procedure is safe and avoids hemodynamic instability and cerebral venous hypertension.

The distribution of free and liposomal doxorubicin (Liporubicin) administered by intravenous injection (IV) or isolated lung perfusion (ILP) was compared in normal and tumor tissues of sarcoma bearing rodent lungs. A single sarcomatous tumor was generated in the left lung of 35 Fischer rats, followed 10 days later by left-sided ILP (n=20) or IV drug administration (n=12), using 100 microg and 400 microg free or liposomal doxorubicin, respectively. The tumor and lung tissue drug concentration was measured by HPLC. Free doxorubicin administered by ILP resulted in a three-fold (100 microg) and 10-fold (400 microg) increase of the drug concentration in the tumor and normal lung tissue compared to IV administration. In contrast, ILP with Liporubicin resulted in a similar drug uptake in the tumor and lung tissue compared to IV injection. For both drug formulations and dosages, ILP resulted in a higher tumor to lung tissue drug ratio but also in a higher spatial heterogeneity of drug distribution within the lung compared to IV administration. ILP resulted in a higher tumor to lung tissue drug ratio and in a more heterogeneous drug distribution within the lung compared to IV drug administration.