Review of Recent Important Papers in Interventional Pulmonology

Interventional pulmonology is an innovative branch of pulmonary medicine that uses minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to airway, parenchymal, and pleural disease. The author reviews recent high-impact trials including randomized trials describing the use of endobronchial coils and valves in the management of severe emphysema. Novel approaches to the palliation of malignant and benign pleural effusion including increasing the frequency of drainage and instillation of talc via tunneled pleural catheters are also presented. In addition, a recent consensus paper discussing the optimal use and technique of cryobiopsy in diffuse parenchymal disease is reviewed, as well as a systematic review and meta-analysis of its diagnostic yield. The final trial reviewed in this article describes the preliminary safety and efficacy study of a novel endobronchial, balloon, and injection catheter for the local administration of chemotherapy into the airway mucosa so as to minimize the systemic absorption of these agents.