Effects of thoracoscopic lobectomy on surgical wound infection in patients with lung cancer: A meta-analysis

This meta-analysis systematically evaluates the impact of thoracoscopic lobectomy on wound infection and complications in lung cancer patients. An extensive computerized search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang databases for studies comparing thoracoscopic lobectomy with open thoracotomy in the treatment of lung cancer, covering the period up to September 2023. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data and assessed the quality according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data analysis was performed using Stata 17.0 software. Ultimately, 21 studies involving 2118 lung cancer surgery patients were included. The analysis revealed that thoracoscopic lobectomy significantly reduced the incidence of wound infections (odds ratio [OR] = 0.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.13-0.37, p < 0.001) and complications (OR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.21-0.36, p < 0.001) in lung cancer surgery patients, and also significantly shortened hospital stays (standardized mean difference = -2.07, 95% CI: -2.39 to -1.76, p < 0.001). This study indicates that compared with conventional open thoracotomy, thoracoscopic lobectomy in the treatment of lung cancer reduces the incidence of wound infections and complications and shortens hospital stays, demonstrating significant therapeutic efficacy and warranting broader clinical application.