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Introduction: The treatment of recurrent pleural effusion or recurrent pneumothorax frequently involves the creation of a pleurodesis. Ultrasound is being used more frequently to assess the presence of pleural fluid or pneumothorax. With ultrasound, the gliding sign displays the gliding of the visceral pleura over the parietal pleura during respiration. The absence of a gliding sign is indicative of a pneumothorax. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that the presence of pleurodesis would be indicated by the absence of a gliding sign on ultrasound. Methods: To create a pleurodesis, a single intrapleural injection of transforming growth factor-beta2 at a dosage of 1.70 microg/kg or doxycycline at a dosage of 10 mg/kg in a volume of 2.0 mL was administered randomly to one side of a New Zealand White rabbit. Prior to death on day 14 after intrapleural injection, all rabbits underwent an ultrasonic examination at three marked sites on each side of the chest. At each site, three ultrasonic features (gliding sign, pleural thickening, and pleural effusion) were evaluated and graded. The gliding sign was graded as follows: 0 = gliding sign definitely present, 1 = gliding sign questionable, 2 = gliding sign absent. Results: In a preliminary study for developing skill in assessing the gliding sign, the correlation between the gliding sign and the pleurodesis score in 16 rabbits was highly significant (r = 0.568, p = 0.02). In the subsequent main study with 18 additional rabbits, the correlation between the gliding sign score and the pleurodesis score was even better (r = 0.806, p = 0.00009). The gliding sign was definitely present on the noninjected side in all rabbits. Conclusions: The presence of a pleurodesis is indicated by the absence of a pleural guiding sign on ultrasound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: There have been no controlled studies to test the efficacy of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) or recombinant human deoxyribonuclease (rhDNase) in the treatment of empyema. In vitro studies show that streptokinase without rhDNase does not liquefy empyemic material from rabbits. However, the combination of streptokinase and streptodornase and rhDNase have been shown to liquefy pus in vitro. The aim of this study was to determine if tPA or rhDNase, or a combination of the two, is more effective than saline solution in the treatment of empyema in rabbits., Materials and Methods: Empyema was induced in rabbits using 10(9) Pasteurella multicoda organisms in infusion agar injected via a surgically placed chest tube. Once empyema was verified, a blinded investigator administered one of four treatments via the chest tube: 3 mL of saline solution; 4 mg of alteplase (recombinant tPA); 1 mg of rhDNase; or 4 mg of alteplase and 1 mg of rhDNase. The rabbits received a treatment every 12 h following the initial for a total of six treatments. The animals were killed at day 10, and the degree of empyema and pleural peel was scored macroscopically on a scale of 0 to 4., Results: The combination group had a significantly lower mean empyema score (1.83 +/- 0.75) than did the saline solution group (3.86 +/- 0.38, p = 0.001), rhDNase group (3.17 +/- 0.75, p = 0.012), and alteplase group (3.71 +/- 0.49, p = 0.02) [+/- SD]. The total volume of pleural fluid was markedly higher in the alteplase and rhDNase combination group (142 +/- 79.1 mL) or the alteplase group (231 +/- 78.0 mL) compared to either the rhDNase group (0.8 +/- 1.6 mL) or the saline solution group (5.8 +/- 14.0 mL)., Conclusion: The combination of alteplase and rhDNase is more effective in the treatment of rabbit empyema than either agent alone. The intrapleural injection of alteplase alone or in combination with rhDNase leads to the production of large amounts of pleural fluid.

Purposes: We investigated whether oral tetracyclines could produce an efficient and safe pleurodesis as does parenteral doxycycline, which is currently unavailable in many countries., Methods: Parenteral doxycycline (10 mg/kg), oral tetracycline (35 mg/kg), or doxycycline (10 mg/kg) was injected intrapleurally through a right chest tube in rabbits. The oral forms were dissolved in saline solution and passed through a sterile membrane filter. When daily aspirated pleural fluid was < 5 mL/24 h, the chest tube was removed. Fluid WBC, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and protein levels were measured 24 h after the injection. After the death of the animals on day 14, pleurodesis was graded from 1 (none) to 8 (> 50% symphysis) by two observers blinded to treatment groups., Results: The right pleurodesis score of the combined oral groups (median, 7.0; interquartile range [IQR], 4.0; n = 26) did not differ significantly (p = 0.349) from that of the parenteral group (median, 7.5; IQR, 6.0; n = 10). Oral tetracycline (capsule or tablet, n = 6 in each group) and doxycycline (capsule or tablet, n = 7 in each group) were as effective as parenteral doxycycline in producing pleurodesis: tetracycline capsule (median, 7.50; IQR, 6.00); tetracycline tablet (median, 6.50; IQR, 6.00); doxycycline capsule (median, 4.00; IQR, 1.00); doxycycline tablet (median, 8.00; IQR, 5.00), and parenteral doxycycline (median, 7.50; IQR, 6.00) [p = 0.235]. The left pleurodesis scores were 1.00 in all 36 rabbits. Fluid total volume, WBC, LDH, and protein levels were comparable between each oral and parenteral group, excluding WBCs in the tetracycline tablet group (p = 0.047). The complications were nonfatal (right hemothorax: tetracycline capsule [n = 3]/tetracycline tablet [n = 2], doxycycline tablet [n = 2], parenteral doxycycline [n = 2]; left hemothorax: tetracycline capsule [n = 1]; ascites: parenteral doxycycline [n = 1]). There was no growth on all filtrate cultures. Oral forms cost less than parenteral doxycycline (<1 US dollar vs 4.72 US dollars per rabbit). Filtering costs were 1.12 US dollars per rabbit., Conclusion: Oral tetracycline or doxycycline is as effective and safe as parenteral doxycycline in producing pleurodesis in rabbits; thus, they may also be used in humans.