Post-Biopsy Pneumothorax Incidence in Patients Treated with Biosentry Plug Device

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to determine if the Biosentry™ Plug Device (BPD), a prophylactic sealant used to prevent pneumothorax after lung biopsies, reduced post-lung biopsy pneumothorax rates, and other complications compared to no device utilization. METHODS: This single institution, retrospective cohort study included patients who received a lung biopsy in the Department of Interventional Radiology from May 1, 2015 to August 31, 2017. Data such as sex, race, ethnicity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease status, degree of lung bullae if present, smoking status, and use of BPD were recorded. Decisions to use BPD were based on operator preference. A chi squared analysis was used with a p value greater than 0.05 considered significant. RESULTS: The study included 521 patients who underwent a lung biopsy during the study timeframe. Of these, 74 (14.2%) received the BPD, while 447 (85.8%) did not. One-hundred ninety (36.4%) had a pneumothorax within one month of the lung biopsy. Of the total 190 that experienced pneumothorax, 36.7% of non-BPD biopsies resulted in pneumothorax, while 35.1% of BPD biopsies resulted in pneumothorax (p value = 0.7970; degrees of freedom = 1). CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicated that BPD may not reduce pneumothorax incidence nor limit the severity of complications in patients.