TY - JOUR AU - Petrella, Francesco AU - Maisonneuve, Patrick AU - Borri, Alessandro AU - Casiraghi, Monica AU - Donghi, Stefano AU - Durkovic, Sava AU - Filippi, Niccolo AU - Galetta, Domenico AU - Gasparri, Roberto AU - Guarize, Juliana AU - Lo Iacono, Giorgio AU - Mariolo, Alessio Vincenzo AU - Tessitore, Adele AU - Spaggiari, Lorenzo PY - 2018 TI - Pleural catheters after thoracoscopic treatment of malignant pleural effusion: a randomized comparative study on quality of life JF - Journal of Thoracic Disease; Vol 10, No 5 (May 31, 2018): Journal of Thoracic Disease Y2 - 2018 KW - N2 - Background: Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) complicates many neoplasms and its incidence is expected to rise in parallel with the aging population and longer survival of cancer patients. Although a clear consensus exists on indwelling catheters in patients with poor performance status, no study has hitherto compared different devices in patients requiring temporary or definitive drainage following talc poudrage. Methods: This is a prospective, two-arm, pilot study on patients with MPE undergoing talc poudrage, comparing two different catheters (PleurX ® versus Pleurocath ® ) positioned because of the inefficacy of the procedure or the high risk of short-term failure. End points of the study were quality of life (QoL), median dyspnea and chest pain assessment by EORTC questionnaires and a 100 mm visual analog scale, total in-hospital length of stay and frequency of serious adverse events. Results: No difference was observed between the two groups in in mean dyspnea and mean chest pain in any questions of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-LC13 questionnaires. Duration of the procedure was significantly longer in the PleurX ® group versus the Pleurocath ® group (72±33 versus 44±13 minutes; P=0.03). No difference was observed between the two groups in total length of hospital stay (P=1.00) or complication rate (P=1.00). Conclusions: For the cohort of patients still needing indwelling pleural catheters (PC) after thoracoscopic talc poudrage, PleurX ® is suggested when drain removal is unlikely due to short life expectancy or the high chance of pleurodesis failure. Conversely, Pleurocath ® should be recommended in all other patients as it is faster to place and easier to remove. UR - https://jtd.amegroups.org/article/view/21216