Chest
-
Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Indwelling pleural catheters reduce inpatient days over pleurodesis for malignant pleural effusion.
Patients with malignant pleural effusion (MPE) have limited prognoses. They require long-lasting symptom relief with minimal hospitalization. Indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs) and talc pleurodesis are approved treatments for MPE. Establishing the implications of IPC and talc pleurodesis on subsequent hospital stay will influence patient choice of treatment. Therefore, our objective was to compare patients with MPE treated with IPC vs pleurodesis in terms of hospital bed days (from procedure to death or end of follow-up) and safety. ⋯ Patients treated with IPCs required significantly fewer days in hospital and fewer additional pleural procedures than those who received pleurodesis. Safety profiles and symptom control were comparable.