Autologous Blood Patch Pleurodesis for Secondary Spontaneous Pneumothorax: A Narrative Review, a Retrospective Case Series and State of Play in the UK

INTRODUCTION: Treatment of prolonged air leak due to secondary spontaneous pneumothorax is challenging. Autologous blood patch pleurodesis (ABPP) is a treatment option. Previous evidence is reliant on single-centre series and underpowered trials and is mostly described in air leaks post cardiothoracic intervention. There are no United Kingdom (UK) wide data. METHODS: Members of the UK Pleural Society were surveyed for their practice and for patients who underwent blood patch. There were 16 respondents from 333 members. Twelve had performed the procedure, and six had kept records and could submit data. Basic demographics, intervention and clinical details of patients were then collected. The study was sponsored by the Audit Department of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (reference 8124), and Caldicott Clearance for data sharing was provided by the Trust’s Information Goverance Board (reference C4221). There was no requirement for informed consent. RESULTS: Data for 12 patients that received ABPP between 2014 and 2022 in six respiratory centres were assessed. The aetiology of the secondary pneumothoraces was mostly due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and end-stage interstitial lung disease. The patients had a median age of 75 years. The median air leak time before ABPP was 17 days. A total of 50–100 ml of blood was used for ABPP. Five patients had two attempts at ABPP. Air leak resolved in six patients (50%). Four patients had pleural apposition prior to ABPP. Four patients were diagnosed with hospital-acquired pneumonia following ABPP. CONCLUSION: This is the only UK-wide retrospective case series of ABPP of ‘medical’ patients with secondary pneumothorax. There is widespread variation in care. No formal conclusions can be drawn, and much larger robust datasets are required. An application has been made to the European Respiratory Society to incorporate ABPP within the International Collaborative Effusion database. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41030-022-00212-w.