Effect of visual lung recruitment manoeuvres guided by trans-oesophageal lung ultrasound on atelectasis after thoracoscopic lobectomy: a randomised, single-blind, prospective study

Abstract Background Although the incidence of postoperative atelectasis could be reduced using lung recruitment manoeuvres, it remains high. We hypothesised that intraoperative visual lung recruitment guided by trans-oesophageal lung ultrasound would be more effective than the conventional method for managing postoperative atelectasis. Methods In this randomised, controlled, prospective study, 84 patients undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy were recruited from Affiliated Chengdu Fifth People’s Hospital (teaching hospital) in China. Patients were grouped into trans-oesophageal lung ultrasound-guided (Group G, n = 42) and control (Group C, n = 42) groups. Methods Lung recruitment was performed after anaesthesia induction, before chest closure and before the endotracheal tube extubation. In Group C, recruitment pressure was controlled at 30 cm H2O for 10 s (performed thrice); in Group G, the pressure was controlled at 30 cm H2O (performed thrice), and the tidal volume did not exceed 20 ml kg−1 until no atelectasis was detected by trans-oesophageal ultrasound. The primary outcome was lung ultrasound scores measured at the post anaesthesia care unit 30 min after extubation. The secondary outcomes included the oxygenation index (30 min after extubation) and the incidence of atelectasis (30 min after extubation and 3 days after surgery). Results The final analysis included 79 patients. The lung ultrasound score was significantly higher in the control group than in the ultrasound-guided group 30 min after extubation (Group C vs. Group G, 8.6 ± 2.6 vs. 6.5 ± 2.0, P