An update of the long-term outcome of patients with nonspecific pleurisy at medical thoracoscopy.
BMC Pulm Med
; 21(1): 226, 2021 Jul 12.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34253218
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Medical thoracoscopy (MT) is recommended in patients with undiagnosed exudative pleural effusion and offers a degree of diagnostic sensitivity for pleural malignancy. However, not all patients who undergo MT receive an exact diagnosis. Our previous investigation from 2014 summarized the long-term outcomes of these patients with nonspecific pleurisy (NSP); now, we offer updated data with the goal of refining our conclusions.METHODS:
Between July 2005 and August 2018, MT with pleural biopsies were performed in a total of 1,254 patients with undiagnosed pleural effusions. One hundred fifty-four patients diagnosed with NSP with available follow-up data were included in the present study, and their medical records were reviewed.RESULTS:
A total of 154 patients were included in this study with a mean follow-up duration of 61.5 ± 43.7 months (range 1-180 months). No specific diagnosis was established in 67 (43.5%) of the patients. Nineteen patients (12.3%) were subsequently diagnosed with pleural malignancies. Sixty-eight patients (44.2%) were diagnosed with benign diseases. Findings of pleural nodules or plaques during MT and the recurrence of pleural effusion were associated with malignant disease.CONCLUSIONS:
Although most NSP patients received a diagnosis of a benign disease, malignant disease was still a possibility, especially in those patients with nodules or plaques as noted on the MT and a recurrence of pleural effusion. One year of clinical follow-up for NSP patients is likely sufficient. These updated results further confirm our previous study's conclusions.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pleural Effusion
/
Pleurisy
/
Thoracoscopy
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
BMC Pulm Med
Year:
2021
Document type:
Article