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Local Anesthetic Thoracoscopy for Undiagnosed Pleural Effusion
Published on: November 10, 2023
Ways to overcome non-draining indwelling pleural catheter in malignant pleural effusion
A H Faisal1, B H Ng2
1Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Department of Medicine, Pulmonology Unit, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ngboonhau@hotmail.com.
Abstract:
The indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) is a 16-Fr-multifenestrated catheter. It has become an accepted practice in the management of malignant pleural effusion, especially in patients with non-expandable lung. However, IPC blockage or not draining is common. A 53-year-old female with malignant pleural effusion presented to us with blocked IPC and symptomatic pleural loculation one month after IPC insertion. After failing saline flushing and low-pressure wall suction, intrapleural alteplase was instituted through the IPC with a favourable outcome, and she continued to drain daily thereafter. The present case highlights the safety of intrapleural alteplase via IPC in the non-expandable lung.
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