Efficacy and safety of percutaneous tube drainage in lung abscess: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: Lung abscess is an infectious lung disease. The main objective of this review was to assess the efficacy and safety of percutaneous tube drainage (PTD) in patients with lung abscess by systematic review and meta-analysis of published data. Methods: We searched all literature published between 1 January 2010, and 6 August 2019, in the PubMed, Cochrane Central Library, EMBASE, Wanfang, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Chinese Biomedical Literature databases for relevant reports. The data from these studies were pooled for statistical analysis, and sensitivity analysis and risk-of-bias analysis was performed. Results: Meta-analysis revealed that percutaneous tube drainage (PTD) was superior to conservative treatment in terms of the total effectivity rate (P < 0.01). Moreover, length of hospital stay and number of fever days were reduced for the PTD group than for the group receiving conservative treatment (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference between PTD and conservative treatment in terms of complication rate (P = 0.43). Conclusion: Lung abscess drainage is a safe and effective method for treating lung abscesses. Based on the principle that as much drainage as possible should be performed as treatment of abscess diseases, drainage should be promoted as treatment for lung abscess.