Diagnostic value of medical thoracoscopy for undiagnosed pleural effusions

Chen,Rui‑Lin; Zhang,Yong‑Qing; Wang,Jun; Wu,Hua; Yang,Shu‑Mei

doi:10.3892/etm.2018.6742

December-2018 Volume 16 Issue 6

Full Size Image

Journals

International Journal of Molecular Medicine

International Journal of Molecular Medicine is an international journal devoted to molecular mechanisms of human disease.

International Journal of Oncology

International Journal of Oncology is an international journal devoted to oncology research and cancer treatment.

Molecular Medicine Reports

Covers molecular medicine topics such as pharmacology, pathology, genetics, neuroscience, infectious diseases, molecular cardiology, and molecular surgery.

Oncology Reports

Oncology Reports is an international journal devoted to fundamental and applied research in Oncology.

Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine

Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine is an international journal devoted to laboratory and clinical medicine.

Oncology Letters

Oncology Letters is an international journal devoted to Experimental and Clinical Oncology.

Biomedical Reports

Explores a wide range of biological and medical fields, including pharmacology, genetics, microbiology, neuroscience, and molecular cardiology.

Molecular and Clinical Oncology

International journal addressing all aspects of oncology research, from tumorigenesis and oncogenes to chemotherapy and metastasis.

World Academy of Sciences Journal

Multidisciplinary open-access journal spanning biochemistry, genetics, neuroscience, environmental health, and synthetic biology.

International Journal of Functional Nutrition

Open-access journal combining biochemistry, pharmacology, immunology, and genetics to advance health through functional nutrition.

International Journal of Epigenetics

Publishes open-access research on using epigenetics to advance understanding and treatment of human disease.

Medicine International

An International Open Access Journal Devoted to General Medicine.

December-2018 Volume 16 Issue 6

Full Size Image

Article Open Access

Diagnostic value of medical thoracoscopy for undiagnosed pleural effusions

Authors:
- Rui‑Lin Chen
- Yong‑Qing Zhang
- Jun Wang
- Hua Wu
- Shu‑Mei Yang
View Affiliations / Copyright

Affiliations: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710068, P.R. China

Copyright: © Chen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.
Pages: 4590-4594
|
Published online on: September 17, 2018

https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2018.6742
Expand metrics +

Abstract

To investigate the diagnostic value of medical thoracoscopy for the diagnosis of undiagnosed pleural effusions, a retrospective study was performed on the clinical data of 86 patients with undiagnosed pleural effusions who had medical thoracoscopy at Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital (Xi'an, China) between May 2012 and November 2013. Of the 86 patients, 79 cases of pleural effusions were confirmed by medical thoracoscopic biopsy with a diagnosis rate of 91.9%. In these 79 confirmed patients, 37 had pleura cancer metastasis (43.0%) and 20 had tuberculous pleuritis (23.3%). The most common type of malignant tumor was lung cancer, accounting for 86.5% of the patients with pleural metastasis. Tuberculosis was often observed in the 16‑35 years of age patient group, while malignant tumors were typically detected in the 36‑65 year and 65 years and above patient groups. Notably, the overall diagnosis distribution had little connection with sex or smoking‑history. Neither mortality nor major complications were observed in patients who received medical thoracoscopy examination. In conclusion, medical thoracoscopy is a safe and effective examination method and has an important diagnostic value for unidentified pleural effusion in patients.

View Figures

View References

1	McGrath EE and Anderson PB: Diagnosis of pleural effusion: A systematic approach. Am J Crit Care. 20:119–128. 2011. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
2	Prakash UB and Reiman HM: Comparison of needle biopsy with cytologic analysis for the evaluation of pleural effusion: Analysis of 414 cases. Mayo Clin Proc. 60:158–164. 1985. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
3	Kendall SW, Bryan AJ, Large SR and Wells FC: Pleural effusions: Is thoracoscopy a reliable investigation? A retrospective review. Respir Med. 86:437–440. 1992. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
4	Rodriguez-Panadero F, Janssen JP and Astoul P: Thoracoscopy: General overview and place in the diagnosis and management of pleural effusion. Eur Respir J. 28:409–422. 2006. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
5	Tassi GF and Tschopp JM: The centenary of medical thoracoscopy. Eur Respir J. 36:1229–1231. 2010. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
6	Sakuraba M, Masuda K, Hebisawa A, Sagara Y and Komatsu H: Diagnostic value of thoracoscopic pleural biopsy for pleurisy under local anaesthesia. ANZ J Surg. 76:722–724. 2006. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
7	Blanc FX, Atassi K, Bignon J and Housset B: Diagnostic value of medical thoracoscopy in pleural disease: A 6-year retrospective study. Chest. 121:1677–1683. 2002. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
8	Lee P, Hsu A, Lo C and Colt HG: Prospective evaluation of flex-rigid pleuroscopy for indeterminate pleural effusion: Accuracy, safety and outcome. Respirology. 12:881–886. 2007. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
9	Hansen M, Faurschou P and Clementsen P: Medical thoracoscopy, results and complications in 146 patients: A retrospective study. Respir Med. 92:228–232. 1998. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
10	Maskell NA and Butland RJ; Pleural Diseases Group, Standards of Care Committee, British Thoracic Society, : BTS guidelines for the investigation of a unilateral pleural effusion in adults. Thorax. 58 Suppl 2:ii8–i17. 2003. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
11	Murray JF and Mason RJ: Murray and Nadel's textbook of respiratory medicine. Saunders/Elsevier; Philadelphia, PA: 2010, View Article : Google Scholar
12	Taylor R, Najafi F and Dobson A: Meta-analysis of studies of passive smoking and lung cancer: Effects of study type and continent. Int J Epidemiol. 36:1048–1059. 2007. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
13	Li Q, Hsia J and Yang G: Prevalence of smoking in China in 2010. N Engl J Med. 364:2469–2470. 2011. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
14	Boutin C, Viallat JR, Cargnino P and Farisse P: Thoracoscopy in malignant pleural effusions. Am Rev Respir Dis. 124:588–592. 1981.PubMed/NCBI
15	Porcel JM and Vives M: Differentiating tuberculous from malignant pleural effusions: A scoring model. Med Sci Monit. 9:CR175–CR180. 2003.PubMed/NCBI
16	Baumann MH, Nolan R, Petrini M, Lee YC, Light RW and Schneider E: Pleural tuberculosis in the United States: Incidence and drug resistance. Chest. 131:1125–1132. 2007. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
17	Venekamp LN, Velkeniers B and Noppen M: Does ‘idiopathic pleuritis’ exist? Natural history of non-specific pleuritis diagnosed after thoracoscopy. Respiration. 72:74–78. 2005. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
18	Barreiro TJ and Katzman PJ: Malignant mesothelioma: A case presentation and review. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 106:699–704. 2006.PubMed/NCBI
19	Renshaw AA, Dean BR, Antman KH, Sugarbaker DJ and Cibas ES: The role of cytologic evaluation of pleural fluid in the diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. Chest. 111:106–109. 1997. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
20	Boutin C, Rey F, Gouvernet J, Viallat JR, Astoul P and Ledoray V: Thoracoscopy in pleural malignant mesothelioma: A prospective study of 188 consecutive patients. Part 1: Diagnosis. Cancer. 72:394–404. 1993. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI

Journals

International Journal of Molecular Medicine

International Journal of Oncology

Molecular Medicine Reports

Oncology Reports

Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine

Oncology Letters

Biomedical Reports

Molecular and Clinical Oncology

World Academy of Sciences Journal

International Journal of Functional Nutrition

International Journal of Epigenetics

Medicine International

Diagnostic value of medical thoracoscopy for undiagnosed pleural effusions

This article is mentioned in:

Abstract

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Related Articles