Alexandra Dipper, Anand Sundaralingam, Emma Hedley, Emma Tucker, Paul White, Rahul Bhatnagar, Andrew Moore, Melissa Dobson, Ramon Luengo-Fernandez, Janet Mills, Sandra Sowden, John E Harvey, Lee Dobson, Robert F Miller, Mohammed Munavvar, Najib Rahman, Nick Maskell
INTRODUCTION: Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is common, with 50 000 new cases per year in the UK. MPE causes disabling breathlessness and indicates advanced disease with a poor prognosis. Treatment approaches focus on symptom relief and optimising quality of life (QoL). Patients who newly present with MPE commonly require procedural intervention for both diagnosis and therapeutic benefit.Thoracoscopic pleural biopsies are highly sensitive in diagnosing pleural malignancy. Talc poudrage may be delivered at thoracoscopy (TTP) to prevent effusion recurrence by effecting pleurodesis...
May 2023: BMJ Open Respiratory Research