[Pleurisy in blood diseases: value of thoracoscopic poudrage]

Twenty-five pleural effusions which occurred in 21 lymphoma patients (mean age: 50.6 +/- 4.6 years) were treated by pleural poudrage during thoracoscopy. The effusion was either serofibrinous (32%) or haemorrhagic (41%) or chylous (27%). The mean amount of fluid removed before poudrage was 5.2 +/- 0.6 litres. Thoracoscopy confirmed direct pleural invasion in 95.5% of the cases. Permanent pleural symphysis was obtained in all but 2 patients: one who required one single puncture withdrawing 400 cc, the other with mesothelioma on cured Hodgkin's disease, which was a failure. The mean duration of drainage was 4.8 +/- 0.2 days. The results obtained were identical with those reported with pleurisy in solid tumours.