Does Gelfoam slurry embolization post-pulmonary biopsy reduce risk of pneumothorax? A prospective randomized control study

Background: CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic biopsy has become a widely accepted safe method in establishing the etiology of lung masses. Pneumothorax is the most commonly faced complication requiring further therapeutic intervention for treatment with chest tube drainage adding to the time of hospital stay. Aim of work: We aim to evaluate the effect of Gelfoam mixture biopsy tract embolization as a minimal added cost in reducing the overall rate of complications, the need of chest tube placement, and hospital stay. Patient and methods: A total of 138 transthoracic CT-guided lung biopsies were randomized to 70 track embolized patients and 68 control. The study protocol was approved from the National Cancer Institute ethical committee review board. Data were collected from the local PACS system and analyzed, reviewed and performed by one of three interventional radiologists. Patient records were analyzed for primary health risks, pre-procedural CT was analyzed for lesion-related risk factors, and intra-procedural CTs were analyzed for procedure-related risk factors. Outcome measures include incidence of pneumothorax, pneumothoraxes requiring chest tube insertion and hospital admission rates. Results: Marked pneumothorax requiring chest tube insertion and hospital admission were significantly reduced in the embolized group as 7.1% compared to 19% in the non-embolized group with significant p value of 0.037. Hospital admissions reduced from 19% down to 4.3% in embolized cases with a significant p value of 0.007. On univariate regression analysis, embolization reduced chest tube placement odds by 68% (OR = 0.32, 95% CI 0.109-0.97, p = 0.044). The only significant procedural-related factor was needle pleural angle > 70?degrees where it increased the risk of pneumothorax by 2.85 times and chest tube placement by 3.10 times. Gelfoam embolization significantly reduces the odds of post-procedural hospital admission by 81% (OR = 0.189, 95% CI 0.051-0.699, p = 0.012). In multivariate regression analysis, Gelfoam was significantly protective against chest tube insertion and prolonged hospital stay, by reducing the odds 74.3% (OR = 0.257, 95% CI 0.082-0.808, p = 0.020) and 86% (OR = 0.133, 95% CI 0.027-0.662, p = 0.014), respectively. Needle pleural angle more than 70 & DEG; increased odds of chest tube insertion by 252%. Lesions that were in very low position related to the diaphragm and just behind ribs were less prone to chest tube insertion by 83% (OR = 0.164, 95% CI 0.035-0.779, p = 0.02), while those showing mediastinal invasion and central lung lesions had increased odds by 6.812 times (95% CI 1.452-31.958, p = 0.015) for longer hospital stays. Conclusions: Gelfoam embolization post-CT-guided lung biopsy has proven to statistically reduce large pneumothoraces requiring chest tube insertion, longer hospital stay, and reduced unnecessary expenses.