Australian Publication Investigating Pleural Effusion

Occurrence in 14% Of Patients And Prolonged Hospitalisation By 9 Days

One of the most frequent complications of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is pleural effusion. Limited previous studies have found post-CABG pleural effusion to be associated with increased length-of-stay and greater morbidity post-CABG.

in the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, New South Wales, Australia, J. Brookes et Al. performed a study on 409 patients. 59 (14.4%) patients underwent drainage of pleural effusion post-CABG. Effusions were drained on average 9.9±8.4 days.

Patients with pleural effusion were more likely to require readmission to ICU, re-intubation and readmission to hospital.

As conclusion the study says "Pleural effusion is a common complication of cardiac surgery and is associated with significant morbidity and resource utilization."

Link to the study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33717581/

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