Indwelling pleural catheters for non-malignant pleural effusions: report on a single centre’s 10 years of experience

摘要

Recurrent pleural effusion is a common cause of dyspnoea, cough and chest pain during the course of infectious pleurisy and non-malignant diseases like congestive heart failure (CHF) or liver cirrhosis with hepatic hydrothorax (HH). With regard to the chronic character of the underlying diseases, indwelling pleural catheters (IPC) are increasingly used, not only assuring immediate symptom relief but also potentially leading to pleurodesis without sclerosing agents.