2013 Volume 52 Issue 11 Pages 1173-1176
Objective Malignant pleural effusions are commonly treated with tube drainage followed by chemical pleurodesis to maintain the patient's quality of life. While talc is now accepted to be a worldwide gold-standard sclerosing agent for treating malignant pleural effusion, it is not yet approved in Japan. Instead, many patients are administered OK-432 for pleurodesis, which carries the risk of complications such as high-grade fever, chest pain, anaphylactic shock, interstitial pneumonia and acute renal failure. To assess the efficacy and safety of talc as a sclerosing agent in the management of malignant pleural effusions in Japanese patients.
Methods Pleurodesis was performed using 4 g of sterile talc with thoracoscopic talc poudrage or the administration of talc slurry via a chest tube in patients with malignant pleural effusions.
Results A total of 57 patients were included. The success rate of pleurodesis assessed on chest radiography at 30, 90 and 180 days was 90.6%, 80.9% and 76.1%, respectively. Complications occurring after talc pleurodesis included fever in 10.5% of the patients and chest pain in 14.0% of the patients. No major complications were reported.
Conclusion Talc pleurodesis is an effective and safe treatment for the management of malignant pleural effusion in Japanese patients.
