Efficacy of short-term versus long-term chest tube drainage following talc slurry pleurodesis in patients with malignant pleural effusions: A randomised trial

Pleural drainage and pleurodesis: implementation of guidelines in four hospitals

“…The participating centres followed a local strategy ranging from drain removal within 24 h to drainage for o53 days following pleurodesis. These different strategies did not result in better outcome, which supports data suggesting that early drain removal is safe and efficient [15,16]. Longer drainage extends the period of hospitalisation, which is undesirable for patients with a limited life expectancy.…”

Predictors of talc pleurodesis outcome in patients with malignant pleural effusions

“…In addition, there was no statistical difference between the duration of drainage after pleurodesis in the successful and unsuccessful groups. The results have been confirmed by other authors and demonstrated that shorter pleurodesis regime is safe and effective compared to longer drainage [13]. Previous studies have shown that rotation does not influence the dispersion or the overall effectiveness of pleurodesis with talc suspension [14].…”

Management of a malignant pleural effusion: British Thoracic Society pleural disease guideline 2010

“…Intercostal tube removal has been recommended when fluid drainage is <150 ml/day, but there is little evidence to support this action 58 68 108 109. In the only randomised study that has addressed the issue, Goodman and Davies randomised patients to 24 h versus 72 h drainage following talc slurry pleurodesis regardless of volume of fluid drainage.…”