Perioperative use of a neutrophil elastase inhibitor in video-assisted thoracoscopic oesophagectomy for cancer.

Background: This study was undertaken to assess the value of administering perioperative sivelestat sodium hydrate (SSH), a selective neutrophil elastase inhibitor, after video-assisted thoracoscopic oesophagectomy for cancer.
Method: Thirty-one consecutive patients with thoracic oesophageal cancer selected to undergo video-assisted thoracoscopic oesophagectomy with lymph node dissection between March 2007 and March 2009 were assigned randomly to a treatment group that received SSH intravenously for 7 days from the beginning of surgery (16 patients) and a control group that received saline (15). The primary endpoint was pulmonary function based on the arterial partial pressure of oxygen/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio (P/F ratio) during the first 9 days after surgery. Secondary endpoints included platelet count, serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, plasma neutrophil elastase-α(1)-antitrypsin complex level, duration of mechanical ventilation and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), and length of intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay.
Results: The mean P/F ratio of patients who received SSH was significantly higher than that of the control group on postoperative days 1-5 and 7. Duration of mechanical ventilation and SIRS, and length of ICU stay were significantly shorter in the treatment group. Serum CRP concentration on postoperative day 9 was significantly lower (P = 0·048), platelet counts on days 2, 3 and 5 were higher (P = 0·012, P = 0·049 and P = 0·006 respectively), and the incidence of postoperative acute lung injury was significantly lower following SSH treatment (P = 0·023).
Conclusion: Perioperative sivelestat may maintain postoperative pulmonary function following video-assisted oesophagectomy.
(Copyright © 2011 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)