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[Use of intrapleural urokinase in children]
L Tapia Ceballos1, B Picazo Angelín, A Bonillo Perales
1Area de Pediatría, Hospital Costa del Sol, Marbella.
Insights
Intrapleural urokinase effectively treats complicated pediatric pleural effusions, offering a safe alternative to surgery. This fibrinolytic agent resolves effusions without adverse effects, potentially avoiding invasive procedures.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Thoracic Surgery
- Interventional Pulmonology
Background:
- Complicated pleural effusions in children often require surgical intervention.
- Loculations within the pleural space present a challenge for standard treatment.
- Developing less invasive treatment protocols is crucial for pediatric patients.
Observation:
- Three pediatric cases under three years of age with complicated pleural effusions were treated.
- Intrapleural urokinase was administered directly into the pleural space.
- The study aimed to evaluate urokinase as an alternative to surgery.
Findings:
- Intrapleural urokinase successfully resolved pleural effusions in all three cases.
- No adverse effects were reported following the urokinase instillation.
- The procedure demonstrated efficiency in managing loculated effusions.
Implications:
- Intrapleural urokinase presents a safe and effective non-surgical option for pediatric complicated pleural effusions.
- This approach may help avoid more invasive surgical procedures.
- Further research could lead to a standardized protocol for its use.
Objective:
To present the use of intrapleural urokinase as an alternative to surgical management of complicated pleural effusions in children. To add new cases to the literature and set bases for the development of a standardized protocol.
Method:
Presentation of three cases in children under three years of age treated with intrapleural urokinase.
Results:
Resolution of the effusions with lack of adverse effects.
Conclusion:
Treatment of pleural effusions when loculations develop. This invasive approach might be avoided in some cases by instillation of a fibrinolytic agent such as urokinase into the pleural space, this being an efficient and safe procedure.