INTRODUCTION Chemical pleurodesis is an accepted palliative therapy for patients with recurrent and symptomatic pleural effusion. The aim of the study is to present our own experiences with a less invasive variant of this procedure performed with talc slurry administered via a chest tube under local anaesthesia. Available medical literature in Polish does not contain information about this type...

Primary spontaneous pneumothorax recurs at a certain rate after thoracoscopic surgery, and risk factors for that recurrence are in question. The medical records of 248 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax who were followed for more than 2 years after thoracoscopic surgery were reviewed and retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis were u...

Pleurodesis, from the Greek pleura and desis (binding together), is intended to achieve a symphysis between parietal and visceral pleura, in order to prevent accumulation of either air (pneumothrax) or fluid (pleural effusion) in the pleural space. The search for the ideal agent for pleurodesis continues. The aim of this research was to assess the chronic gross and microscopic pleural findings,...

BACKGROUND Cases of acute respiratory failure reported after talc pleurodesis have raised concerns about its safety. It has been speculated that this pulmonary inflammatory syndrome is secondary to the extrapleural dissemination of the talc particles. STUDY OBJECTIVES To test the hypothesis that particle size influences extrapleural talc deposition and pleural inflammation after talc slurry p...

Hepatic hydrothorax in the absence of ascites is a rare complication of liver cirrhosis. A 71-year-old man with liver cirrhosis due to alcohol abuse was referred to our department because of massive pleural effusion on the right side. The properties of pleural effusion and clinical course led to a diagnosis of hepatic hydrothorax. Nonsurgical OK-432 pleurodesis resulted in a marked decrease of ...

BACKGROUND Iodopovidone is an alternative agent used to promote pleurodesis in patients with malignant pleural effusion (MPE). However, safety is a concern, and many authors still reject its use. OBJECTIVES Our main objective is to describe the occurrence of common and severe adverse events after pleurodesis with two different doses of iodopovidone in patients with MPE. Our secondary objectiv...

INTRODUCTION The management of recurrent pleural effusion or pneumothorax has always been a cause for serious concern among chest physicians. Among the wide variety of agents that are available for pleurodesis, povidone iodine is now perhaps the most sought after agent as it is cheap, easily available, effective and safe. This study was conducted to establish the efficacy and safety of povidone...

Pleurodesis aims to achieve a symphysis between parietal and visceral pleural surfaces, in order to prevent accumulation of fluid or air in the pleural space. Its major indications are malignant effusions and pneumothorax, and a re-expandable lung is essential for the success of the technique. Moreover, expectation of a reasonably long survival is important before attempting pleurodesis. A succ...

The aim of this prospective study was to determine the rate of recurrence for spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) after tetracycline pleurodesis (TCP), using that of observation, tube thoracostomy alone, and thoracotomy as references. From 1985 to the end of 1991, 78 patients were treated with tetracycline pleurodesis and 135 patients served as control subjects. Pleurodesis was induced by instillatio...

It was hypothesised that monitoring neutrophil and D-dimer (DD) levels into the pleural fluid, after talc instillation, could predict the outcome of pleurodesis. The current authors investigated a total of 168 patients with malignant pleural effusion, who were treated with talc poudrage. According to the outcome the patients were categorised into one of two groups, either successful or failed p...