RATIONALE: There is a paucity of evidence regarding the role of tunneled pleural catheters in @entity1143 caused by @entity712 that is refractory to medical management. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of tunneled pleural catheter drainage for treatment of refractory @entity1143 associated with @entity712 , either when used alone or with concomitant talc pleurodesis performed during thoracoscopy. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study. We identified @entity1 with @entity712 and recurrent symptomatic @entity1143 who were treated between 2005 and 2015 by placement of a tunneled pleural catheter. @entity1 underwent either thoracoscopy followed by talc poudrage and pleural catheter placement (group 1) or catheter insertion alone (group 2). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Forthy-three catheters were inserted in 36 @entity1 , with 15 placed in group 1 and 28 in group 2. Successful pleurodesis was seen in 80% in group 1 and 25% in group 2. The median time of catheter placement was 11.5 days in group 1 and 66 days in group 2. There was a significant decrease in hospital admissions and pleural interventions after catheter placement compared with before insertion (P   <   0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This single-center, retrospective study demonstrated the feasibility of catheter placement used alone or with talc poudrage for the treatment of refractory @entity1143 associated with @entity712 . The addition of talc poudrage might increase the pleurodesis rate and reduce the days to catheter removal in highly selected @entity1 . Prospective studies on a larger number of @entity1 are warranted to verify the safety and efficacy of this intervention.

Tunneled Pleural Catheter Placement with and without Talc Poudrage for Treatment of @entity1143 Due to XXXX .

@entity1143 :: ('MESH:D010996', 'Disease') :: ['pleural effusions'] @entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'Patients'] @entity712 :: ('MESH:D006333', 'Disease') :: ['congestive heart failure']
@entity712 :: (MESH:D006333,Disease) :: ['Congestive Heart Failure']
