1. Use of an Indwelling Pleural Catheter Compared with Thorascopic Talc Pleurodesis in the Management of Malignant Pleural Effusions
- Author
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Christina, Ohm, David, Park, Mary, Vogen, Phillip, Bendick, Robert, Welsh, Stewart, Pursel, and Gary, Chmielewski
- Subjects
Male ,Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted ,General Medicine ,Length of Stay ,Middle Aged ,Pleural Effusion, Malignant ,Catheters, Indwelling ,Recurrence ,Drainage ,Humans ,Female ,Algorithms ,Pleurodesis ,Aged - Abstract
Therapy for recurrent malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is palliative. Video-assisted thoracic surgery with talc pleurodesis (VATS/TP) is limited to inpatients with completely expandable lung parenchyma. We evaluated the outcomes, safety, and efficacy of an indwelling pleural drainage catheter (PDC) system compared with VATS/TP. Forty-one consecutive patients with symptomatic MPE seen between September 2000 and April 2002 were studied. Patients able to fully re-expand their lungs were treated with VATS/TP; those who could not had PDC placement. Twenty-four (59%) were women. The mean age was 64 ± 13 years. VATS/TP was performed in only seven patients (17%), and 34 patients had PDC placement. The length of stay (LOS) was 2.8 ± 5.1 days in the 18 PDC patients who were initially seen as outpatients and 9.4 ± 9.0 days in the inpatient population ( P = 0.013). Short (
- Published
- 2003
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