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Updated: Aug 17, 2026
Local Anesthetic Thoracoscopy for Undiagnosed Pleural Effusion
Published on: November 10, 2023
Pleurodesis with iodized talc for malignant effusions using pigtail catheters
R L Thompson1, J C Yau, R F Donnelly
1Department of Pharmaceutical Services, Ottawa Civic Hospital, Ontario, Canada.
Objective:
To assess the efficacy of using an iodized talc slurry as a sclerosing agent instilled into the pleural space via a 12-French pigtail catheter for controlling malignant pleural effusions.
Design:
A prospective study in which patients were followed until their death.
Setting:
A university-affiliated tertiary-care teaching hospital.
Patients:
Medical oncology patients admitted with symptomatic malignant pleural effusions were considered for iodized talc pleurodesis.
Main Outcome Measures:
The control of pleural effusion. Treatment failure was defined as any reaccumulation of fluid in the pleural space.
Results:
Fifteen patients were treated for a total of 17 instillations. The median follow-up on all patients until death was 6 months (range 1-20). The most frequent adverse effect in the study group was pleuritic chest pain (60%). The probability of control of effusion, as determined by the method of Kaplan-Meier, was 81% (SEM 9.7%). The cost of preparing 5 g of iodized talc was $4.32 (US).
Conclusions:
Iodized talc slurry instilled through a small-bore pigtail catheter is a safe, economical, and effective treatment for malignant pleural effusion.
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