Abstract: Objective To preliminarily explore the clinical effect of 12 F pigtail catheter in patients undergoing thoracoscopic lung cancer resection. Methods A retrospective analysis of 225 cases of patients with lung cancer who underwent thoracoscopy from January 2020 to December 2021 in Jiangdu People’s Hospital of Yangzhou City, 12 F pigtail tube was used for the thin chest tube in the thin tube group, and 28 F and 32 F silicone drainage tubes were used for the thick tube group. The postoperative recovery and the occurrence of complications in the two groups were observed, and the expression levels of serum interleukin-32 (IL-32) were detected at 1, 3and 7 d after operation. Results There was no significant difference in postoperative catheterization time between two groups (P>0.05). The days using oral analgesic and postoperative hospital stay in the thin drainage tube group were significantly shorter than those in the thick drainage tube group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Additionally, there were no significant differences were found in the time of drainage tube placement, postoperative atelectasis, subcutaneous emphysema, tube blockage, fever, lung infection and other complications compared between the two groups, the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The serum IL-32 expression levels in the thin tube group were significantly lower than those in the thick tube group at 1, 3 and 7 d after operation, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion On the premise of ensuring the drainage effect, the 12 F pigtail catheter can relieve postoperative pain and shorten the hospitalization time of patients undergoing thoracoscopic lung cancer resection, without increasing the related risks, and can effectively inhibit the expression of serum IL-32.

Key words: thoracoscopic for lung cancer, pigtail catheter, silica drainage tube, postoperative conditions and complications