Image-guided catheter drainage in loculated pleural space collections, effectiveness, and complications

Image-guided drainage is an established technique with a multitude of applications. The indications, techniques, and management of image-guided catheter drainage, however, continue to evolve. Image-guided drainage alone is sometimes sufficient for the treatment of a collection, but it can also act as an adjunct or temporizing measure before definitive surgical treatment. Drainage of a symptomatic collection is performed to drain pus from the cavity, working in conjunction with antibiotics. Infected collections accumulate antibiotics to a limited extent, which generally precludes effective treatment with antibiotics alone unless the collection is very small (1-3 cm). There are many indications for image-guided drainage in the chest, including pleural disease, lung parenchymal, pericardial, and mediastinal collections. Pleural collections represent a common clinical problem, for which image-guided drainage is recommended to reduce complications encountered as a result of blind drainage.

To evaluate the efficacy and complications of ambulatory catheter drainage system for infective and loculated pleural collection.

The study was conducted in the department of radiodiagnosis and imaging, Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Srinagar 2016 to 2018. It was prospective in nature. All the patients were referred from in patient department as cases of clinically symptomatic pleural collections with image-based evidence of loculations or septations. All 30 patients referred for drainage were imaged using suitable imaging technique (USG or CT) to quantise and document presence of septations and loculations in pleural collections. Mean attenuation of pleural fluid, presence of internal echo's and associated pleural thickening (>2mm) was noted.

The overall success rate in our study was 77%, with recurrence in 10 % of patients and failure rate of 13 %. The outcome as per etiology was success rate of 100% in parapneumonic effusion, 70 % in TB, 50 % in malignancy and 100% in pleural collection after recent surgical intervention. The common procedure related complications noted in our study were hemothorax (3%), post procedural pain (23 %), pneumothorax (3%).

Image guided percutaneous drainage of loculated pleural space collections is an effective and safe procedure.