Purpose: To reexamine the blood patch technique in a laboratory model of lung biopsy free of confounding clinical variables.
Materials and methods: An equine model of lung biopsy was developed with an excised lobe connected to an insufflation bulb and pressure monitor. Patched and control unpatched punctures were made in the lung surface, and the pressure within the lung was raised to the maximum achievable. Whether air leakage from the puncture sites could be induced was determined and, if so, at what pressure it occurred.
Results: At statistical analysis with the Kaplan-Meier test and the Cox proportional hazards regression model, the difference between failure of the patched and unpatched punctures was statistically significant (P < .0001).
Conclusion: The blood patch technique is effective in the laboratory setting and deserves reevaluation in a clinical series with updated biopsy techniques.