Project description:Malignant pleural effusions (MPE) are frequent consequences of malignant disease and significantly impair the quality of life (QoL) of patients. There are two main options for the palliation of MPE-related symptoms: obliterating the pleural space by pleurodesis to prevent further fluid reaccumulation, or chronically draining the pleural fluid with an indwelling pleural catheter (IPC). There is controversy as to which approach is superior each having advantages and drawbacks. Pleurodesis offers a higher chance of rapid resolution of the pleural effusion with an intervention that is time limited but at the expense of a more invasive procedure, the need for a hospital stay and a higher need for repeat procedures. IPC offers an outpatient solution which is less invasive but at the cost of prolonged catheter drainages and care in a significant portion of patients who will not achieve pleurodesis. Impact on QoL, symptom relief and costs do not appear to be significantly different between the two options. Treatment of MPE should be tailored to the patient's functional status, comorbidities, prognosis and personal preferences as well as local expertise. Hybrid approaches using pleurodesis techniques and IPC concomitantly may come into play in the near future to further improve patient care.
Project description:Indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) is widely used in patients with pleural effusion (PE). This meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively summarize the clinical complication from IPC. We searched four large electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library) for potentially relevant studies and assessed the included studies' quality using the methodological index for nonrandomized studies' criteria. Extracted data were used to pool rates, and to conduct subgroup and meta-regression analyses. Forty-one studies involving a cumulative 4983 patients with 5650 IPCs were included in this meta-analysis. The overall incidence of IPC complications was 20.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 15.0-26.3). The top four complications were: overall infection incidence 5.7% (95% CI: 0.7-2.4); overall catheter abnormality incidence 4.4% (95% CI: 2.8-6.3); pain incidence 1.2% (95% CI: 0.4-2.4); and overall loculation incidence 0.9% (95% CI: 0.1-2.1). Subgroup and meta-regression analyses for overall complications and infections by country, PE site, and PE type demonstrated these factors did not contribute significantly to heterogeneity. Further subgroup analyses for infection of benign PE showed that the overall infection incidence (12.6% [95% CI: 8.1-17.8] vs 0.7% [95% CI: 0.0-4.5]) and empyema incidence (9.1% [95% CI: 5.3-13.8] vs 0.0% [95% CI: 0.0-2.3]) of patients with liver-related PE were significantly higher than that of patients with heart-related PE. Our meta-analysis showed reliable pooled incidences of IPC-related complications, with infection being the most common. These results serve to remind clinicians about the incidence of IPC-related complications and emphasize the importance of taking corresponding preventive and therapeutic steps.
Project description:Indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs) are used in the management of malignant pleural effusions, but they can become infected in 5.7% of cases. This review aims to provide a summary of the development of IPC infections and their microbiology, diagnosis and management. IPC infections can be deep, involving the pleural space, or superficial. The former are of greater clinical concern. Deep infection is associated with biofilm formation on the IPC surface and require longer courses of antibiotic treatment. Mortality from infections is low and it is common for patients to undergo pleurodesis following a deep infection. The diagnosis of pleural infections is based upon positive IPC pleural fluid cultures, changes in pleural fluid appearance and biochemistry, and signs or symptoms suggestive of infection. IPCs can also become colonised, where bacteria are grown from pleural fluid drained via an IPC but without evidence of infection. It is important to distinguish between infection and colonisation clinically, and though infections require antibiotic treatment, colonisation does not. It is unclear what proportion of IPCs become colonised. The most common causes of IPC infection and colonisation are Staphylococcus aureus and Coagulase-negative Staphylococci respectively. The management of deep IPC infections requires prolonged antibiotic therapy and the drainage of infected fluid, usually via the IPC. Intrapleural enzyme therapy (DNase and fibrinolytics) can be used to aid drainage. IPCs rarely need to be removed and patients can generally be managed as outpatients. Work is ongoing to study the incidence and significance of IPC colonisation. Other topics of interest include topical mupirocin to prevent IPC infections, and whether IPCs can be designed to limit infection risk.
Project description:ContextMalignant pleural effusion (MPE) is a common comorbid condition in advanced malignancies with variable survival.AimsThe aim of this study was to predict the survival in patients with MPE undergoing indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) insertion.Settings and designThis was a cross-sectional study conducted at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, Pakistan.MethodsOne hundred and ten patients with MPE who underwent IPC insertion from January 2011 to December 2019 were reviewed. Kaplan-Meier method was used to determine the overall survival (OS) of the patient's cohort with respect to LENT score.Statistical analysis usedThe IBM SPSS version 20 was used for statistical analysis.ResultsWe retrospectively reviewed 110 patients who underwent IPC insertion for MPE, with a mean age of 49 ± 15 years. 76 (69.1%) patients were females, of which majority 59 (53.6%) had a primary diagnosis of breast cancer. The LENT score was used for risk stratification, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to predict the OS. The proportion of patients with low-risk LENT score had 91%, 58%, and 29% survival, the moderate-risk group had 76%, 52%, and 14% survival, and in the high-risk group, 61%, 15%, and 0% patients survived at 1, 3, and 6 months, respectively. In addition, there was a statistically significant survival difference (P = 0.05) in patients who received chemotherapy pre- and post-IPC insertion.ConclusionsLENT score seems to be an easy and attainable tool, capable of predicting the survival of the patients with MPE quite accurately. It can be helpful in palliating the symptoms of patients with advanced malignancies by modifying the treatment strategies.
Project description:BackgroundThe finding of unexpandable lung (UL) at an early timepoint is of increasing importance in guiding treatment decisions in patients with malignant pleural effusion (MPE). Pleural manometry is the most common technique to delineate UL, however it has never been measured via an indwelling pleural catheter (IPC). To further the evidence base we analysed all patients in the IPC-PLUS study who had manometry performed during IPC insertion for the ability to predict substantial UL using manometry.MethodsAll patients enrolled in IPC-PLUS who had manometry performed at IPC insertion and radiographic assessment of UL at day 10 were included. Elastance curves were visually inspected for each patient. Initial pleural pressure, closing pleural pressure, and terminal elastance were analysed for their differences and predictive ability in those with substantial UL, defined as ≥25% entrapment on chest radiography.ResultsA total of 89 patients had manometry performed at IPC insertion with subsequent radiographic assessment of UL and interpretable elastance curves. Those with substantial UL had a significantly lower median closing pleural pressure (-15.00 vs. 0.00 cmH2O, P=0.012) and higher terminal elastance (12.03 vs. 8.59 cmH2O/L, P=0.021) compared to a combined group with no or partial UL. However, the predictive ability of these factors to discriminate substantial UL was poor, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of 0.695 and 0.680 for closing pleural pressure and elastance respectively.ConclusionsOur results suggest that manometry is not useful in accurately predicting substantial UL when used via an IPC at the time of insertion.
Project description:BackgroundPleural effusion (PE) is an important predictor for severity and prognosis of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). However, there are few studies focused on the effects and timing of indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) on SAP. Considering this, we designed a retrospective study to verify the relationship between PE and severity of SAP and observe the effects and timing of IPC in SAP.MethodsA total of 309 SAP patients were enrolled. Based on the presence or absence of PE and IPC and IPC time, the enrolled patients were divided into 6 groups. Then, baseline parameters, disease severity, critical complications, ventilator supporting time (VST), length of stay (LOS), and 60-day mortality were compared between each two groups.ResultsPE was a risk factor for death of SAP, but not an independent risk factor. SAP patients with PE rather without PE had higher critical complication rates (p < 0.001), along with longer VST (p < 0.001) and LOS (p < 0.001). And the critical complication rates were lower in group 1 (IPC within 1 week of onset) than group 2 (IPC after 1 week of onset). Further, patients in group 1 also had shorter LOS (p = 0.042) and VST (p = 0.001) than those in group 2. In addition, the survival analysis showed the risk of death in the PE group was higher than the non-PE group (HR 6.6, 95% CI, 3.67-11.86, and p < 0.001). And the risk of death in group 1 was lower than group 2 (HR 0.26, 95% CI, 0.08-0.84, and p = 0.025).ConclusionsPE is a risk factor for death of SAP, but not an independent risk factor. IPC, especially IPC within 1 week of onset, has clinical practical value in SAP.
Project description:BackgroundThe use of Indwelling Pleural Catheter (IPC) in the care of patients with Malignant Pleural Effusion (MPE) is well established, however studies involving public health systems of low and middle-income countries are still lacking. This study aimed to determine the effect of IPC on the respiratory symptoms and Quality of Life (QoL) of patients with MPE in the setting of a Brazilian public health system.MethodsFrom August 2015 to November 2019, patients with MPE underwent IPC placement and were prospectively followed. QoL and respiratory symptoms were assessed by the EORTC questionnaires (QLQ-30; LC13) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), respectively, at pre-treatment, 30 , and 60 days after IPC placement.Results56 patients were enrolled with 57 catheters inserted. The mean age was 63 (23‒88) years, of which 17 (30%) were men and 39 (70%) were women. Breast 24 (42%) and lung 21 (37%) were the main primary neoplasms. Cellulitis was the most common complication and all patients recovered with appropriate antimicrobial therapy. QoL did not change significantly over time, however, the VAS showed a significant improvement in dyspnea (+1.2: -0.5; p = 0.001).ConclusionIPC relieves respiratory symptoms without compromising the QoL, with a low complication rate. It represents a suitable option for patients with MPE and short LE in an emerging country.
Project description:The indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) is an established treatment for recurrent pleural effusion. Fluid leakage through the IPC insertion tract has been reported, but its occurrence is only limited to a short period after the procedure. Besides, the drainage efficacy of IPC may be limited by the presence of loculation in the pleural space, especially when intrapleural fibrinolytic is contraindicated. We report a case of fluid leakage through the healed entry site of IPC due to high pressure built from undrained pleural fluid locules, which was successfully treated with an additional drain targeting the largest undrained locule.