Indwelling pleural catheter for outpatient management of tuberculous empyema

Abstract

The use of indwelling pleural catheters (IPC) is well established in the treatment of malignant pleural effusions. They allow symptom management with intermittent drainage without requiring overnight admission to hospital. However, little is known about their effectiveness in the treatment of pleural infections. Here, we present a case where an IPC is used in the therapeutic management of tuberculous empyema. The IPC enabled outpatient treatment, allowed the patient to return to work and reduced the cost of treatment and the risk of hospital-acquired complications.

The Psychosocial Impact of Indwelling Pleural Catheters: A Scoping Review

“…Interrogation of the questionnaire results by domain was rarely reported, and there was a lack of studies with qualitative methodologies. For the two studies included [ 18 - 19 ], it was not possible to assess the rigour of the methods used due to a lack of reporting. Similarly, the coherence of the reported findings could not be assessed due to a lack of analytical depth.…”

“…"Indwelling pleural catheter for outpatient management of tuberculous empyema," the study by Muhammed et al [ 19 ]: the hierarchy of evidence proposed by Evans [ 21 ] rates case studies as poor for the evaluation of the effectiveness, appropriateness, and/or feasibility of healthcare interventions. In this UK case study, the majority of the article pertains to medical history, treatment, and clinical outcomes.…”

“…Shafiq et al [ 28 ] describe IPC as 'a patient-centred intervention that enables the patient and their caregiver to self-determine the desired frequency and volume of drainage, besides affording the comfort of at-home drainage without hospitalization or visits to a health care provider' (p.747). The individual featured in the case study by Muhammed et al [ 19 ] stated that the enablement of outpatient treatment was one of the prime motivators for his accepting the IPC and that its implantation allowed him to return to work and made his life much easier. Similarly, independence was identified as an important factor of care (in respect of quality of life) in a study of patients with MPE [ 24 ].…”