Epidemiological evaluation of the outcomes after video-assisted thoracoscopic talcage in neoplastic pleurisy

Clinical-epidemiological investigations for further assessing the importance of video-assisted thoracoscopy in the treatment y of patients with neoplastic pleurisy.

The researches included a group of 72 patients (31.9% men and 68.1% women aged 31-81 years, mean age ± 60 years) with neoplastic pleurisy who underwent pleural symphysis by video-assisted thoracoscopic talcage. For statistical-mathematical processing and interpretation the Pearson correlation index with the level of significance at p = 0.05 and highly significant at p < 0.005 was used.

Neoplastic pleurisy prevalently affected the age groups 51-80 years (84.9%). Dyspnea was present in all cases, and patient history at the time of admission revealed 14 conditions, of which 25% were lung cancers. Macroscopically nodular and vegetative tumors were found in 66.7% of cases. An amount of 1000-2000 ml of pleural fluid was found in 44.5% of the cases and a serocitrin appearance in 50%. In 23.6% of the cases cytology results were positive for malignancy and in 13.8% suspicious. In 65.2% of the cases the pleural fluid was exudative and anatomopathology was suggestive of adenocarcinoma in 34.7% of the cases and breast cancer in 18%. The prevalence of recurrences varied from 1 month to more than 7 months, with 36.4% for 1-2 months.

The obtained additional data support the important role of pleural symphysis by video-assisted thoracoscopic talcage in the patients with neoplastic pleurisy.