• Dugal Smith, Hannah Shaw, and Timothy Ryder.
• Respiratory Department, Logan Hospital, Logan City, Queensland, Australia.
• Intern Med J. 2023 Dec 1; 53 (12): 231323182313-2318.

BackgroundPleural infection is life-threatening and increasingly prevalent. In addition to usual care, twice-daily, separate administration of tissue plasminogen activator and deoxyribonuclease (tPA-DNase) reduces radiological pleural opacity with lower surgical referral rates.AimsThis retrospective cohort study examines the use of once-daily, concurrent administration of tPA-DNase for complex parapneumonic pleural effusion and empyema.MethodsPatients with pleural infection who received intrapleural tPA-DNase between October 2014 and July 2020 at Logan Hospital, where it is given concurrently and once-daily as salvage therapy, were retrospectively identified. Radiographic opacification, inflammatory markers, clinical response and complications were examined.ResultsThirty-one patients were identified. Mean age was 48.8 years (standard deviation [SD], 17.2). Median tPA-DNase administration was 3 (interquartile range [IQR], 2-3). Chest x-ray pleural opacity decreased significantly (P = 0.047) from a median of 39.6% (IQR, 28.8-65.7%) to 9.7% (IQR, 2.5-23.2%), a median relative reduction of 75.5% (IQR, 47.7-93.9%). White cell count and C-reactive protein improved significantly (P = 0.002 and P = 0.032, respectively) from a median of 16.3 × 109 /L (IQR, 11.8-20.6 × 109 /L) to 9.9 × 109 /L (IQR, 8.0-12.3 × 109 /L) and 311.0 mg/L (IQR, 218.8-374.0 mg/L) to 69.0 mg/L (IQR, 36.0-118.0 mg/L), respectively. No patients experienced significant bleeding or died. Five patients (16.1%) were referred for surgery.ConclusionThis is pilot evidence that a practical regimen of concurrent, once-daily intrapleural tPA-DNase improved pleural opacification and inflammatory markers without bleeding or mortality. The surgical referral rate was higher than in studies assessing twice-daily administration, though the validity of this outcome as a measure of treatment success is limited, and further studies are needed to assess the optimal dose and frequency of intrapleural therapy and indications for surgical referral.© 2023 The Authors. Internal Medicine Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

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