scholarly journals Diagnostic accuracy of semirigid thoracoscopy in exudative pleural effusions and relationship of thoracoscopic findings with probability of malignant diagnosis

Author(s):  
Ashok Kuwal ◽  
Manish Advani ◽  
Naveen Dutt ◽  
Seemant Saini ◽  
Surjit Singh

Semirigid thoracoscopy is increasingly becoming the procedure of choice for evaluation of undiagnosed exudative pleural effusions. Few studies have reported relationship of thoracoscopic appearances of pleural abnormalities and etiological diagnoses. We aimed our study to assess the diagnostic utility and safety of semirigid thoracoscopy for evaluation of patients with undiagnosed exudative pleural effusion. Further, we also pursued to find any relation of various thoracoscopic findings with the final diagnosis. We prospectively enrolled hospitalized patients with undiagnosed exudative pleural effusion who underwent semirigid thoracoscopy. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data along with data on thoracoscopic appearance of various pleural abnormalities and histopathological diagnosis of pleural biopsy specimens were collected and analysed. Semirigid thoracoscopy was diagnostic in 46 (N=55) patients (83.64%). Malignancy was diagnosed in 31 patients (56.36%), of which adenocarcinoma was the most common histopathological diagnosis (45.16%).  Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV LR+ and LR- of thoracoscopy were 93.87%, 100%, 100%, 66.67%, 40.30 and 0.06, respectively. Pleural nodules, masses and hemorrhagic pleural fluid significantly increased the diagnosis yield of malignancy [OR= 37.16 (95%CI = 3.61-382.65),  =0.002]. The procedure related complications were mild and transient. Post- procedural pain (20%) was most commonly reported followed by dry cough (18.18%), sub-cutaneous emphysema (7.27%) and anaesthesia related complication (1.82%). Semirigid thoracoscopy is simple, safe and effective procedure in diagnosing exudative pleural effusion of unknown etiology with high diagnostic accuracy and minor procedure related complications. The likelihood of diagnosing malignancy is high if combination of pleural nodules, masses and hemorrhagic pleural fluid is present.

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 184-190
Author(s):  
Muhammad Irfan ◽  
Abdul Rasheed Qureshi ◽  
Zeeshan Ashraf ◽  
Muhammad Amjad Ramzan ◽  
Tehmina Naeem ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Background: Conventionally Pleural effusions are suspected by history of pleuritis, evaluated by physical signs and multiple view radiography. Trans-thoracic pleural aspiration is done and aspirated pleural fluid is considered the gold-standard for pleural effusion. Chest sonography has the advantage of having high diagnostic efficacy over radiography for the detection of pleural effusion. Furthermore, ultrasonography is free from radiation hazards, inexpensive, readily available  and feasible for use in ICU, pregnant and pediatric patients. This study aims to explore the diagnostic accuracy of trans-thoracic ultrasonography for pleural fluid detection, which is free of such disadvantages. The objective is to determine the diagnostic efficacy of trans-thoracic ultrasound for detecting pleural effusion and also to assess its suitability for being a non-invasive gold-standard.   Subject and Methods: This retrospective study of 4597 cases was conducted at pulmonology  OPD-Gulab Devi Teaching Hospital, Lahore from November 2016 to July 2018. Adult patients with clinical features suggesting pleural effusions were included while those where no suspicion of pleural effusion, patients < 14 years and pregnant ladies were excluded. Patients were subjected to chest x-ray PA and Lateral views and chest ultrasonography was done by a senior qualified radiologist in OPD. Ultrasound-guided pleural aspiration was done in OPD & fluid was sent for analysis. At least 10ml aspirated fluid was considered as diagnostic for pleural effusion. Patient files containing history, physical examination, x-ray reports, ultrasound reports, pleural aspiration notes and informed consent were retrieved, reviewed and findings were recorded in the preformed proforma. Results were tabulated and conclusion was drawn by statistical analysis. Results: Out of 4597 cases, 4498 pleural effusion were manifested on CXR and only 2547(56.62%) pleural effusions were proved by ultrasound while 2050 (45.57%) cases were reported as no Pleural effusion. Chest sonography demonstrated sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and diagnostic accuracy 100 % each. Conclusions: Trans-thoracic ultrasonography revealed an excellent efficacy that is why it can be considered as non-invasive gold standard for the detection of pleural effusion.


2018 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cuneyt Tetikkurt ◽  
Nail Yılmaz ◽  
Seza Tetikkurt ◽  
Şule Gundogdu ◽  
Rian Disci

The sensitivity and specificity of exfoliative cell cytology for the diagnosis of exudative pleural effusions varies widely according to the etiologic causes. The aim of this study is to assess the diagnostic value of exfoliative cell cytology for the identification of exudative pleural effusions. This is a retrospective study of the patients with an exudative pleural effusion admitted at our clinic in the last twenty years. We have conducted the clinical, the cytological findings, and the diagnostic results of six hundred patients from hospital records.  Male to female ratio was 2.2:1 with a mean age of 42.8 years (range 18-78 years) among the patients. Samples were processed and evaluated according to the standard methods. Cytology results were reviewed and the patients were stratified according to the final diagnosis of their disease. Of the six hundred exudative effusions, 240 were malignant on exfoliative cytology pleural fluid alone. Adenocarcinoma was the most common type of malignancy. Tuberculosis was the second most frequent etiology for the exudative effusions followed by infection and collagen vascular diseases. Diagnostic accuracy of cytology showed a good correlation with the final diagnosis with an overall 70.1% sensitivity, 62.5% specificity, and a 95.9% positive predictive value for all exudative pleural effusions. Cytologic examination of the pleural fluid is a simple non-invasive procedure as the initial step for the diagnostic work up of patients with a pleural effusion.  Exfoliative cytology provides high a final diagnostic yield for the identification of an exudative pleural effusion etiology. Furthermore, cytologic analysis leads the clinician into the correct diagnostic pathway as the most informative laboratory tool even when it was not diagnostic by itself for equivocal cases.


POCUS Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-102
Author(s):  
Peter T. Evans ◽  
Robert S. Zhang ◽  
Yulei Cao ◽  
Sean Breslin ◽  
Nova Panebianco ◽  
...  

Objectives: Pleural effusion is a common reason for hospital admission with thoracentesis often required to diagnose an underlying cause. This study aimed to determine if the imaging characteristics of TUS effectively differentiates between transudative and exudative pleural fluid. Methods: Patients undergoing TUS with pleural fluid analysis were retrospectively identified at a single center between July 2016 and March 2018. TUS images were interpreted and characterized by established criteria. We determined diagnostic performance characteristics of image criteria to distinguish transudative from exudative pleural effusions.  Results: 166 patients underwent thoracentesis for fluid analysis of which 48% had a known malignancy. 74% of the pleural effusions were characterized as exudative by Light’s Criteria. TUS demonstrated anechoic effusions in 118 (71%) of samples. The presences of septations on TUS was highly specific in for exudative effusions (95.2%) with high positive predictive values (89.5%) and likelihood ratio (2.85). No TUS characteristics, even when adjusting for patient characteristics such as heart failure or malignancy, were sensitive for exudative effusions.  Conclusions: Among our cohort, anechoic images did not allow reliable differentiation between transudative and exudative fluid. Presence of complex septated or complex homogenous appearance was high specific and predictive of exudative fluid.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neda Dalil Roofchayee ◽  
Majid Marjani ◽  
Neda K. Dezfuli ◽  
Payam Tabarsi ◽  
Afshin Moniri ◽  
...  

AbstractPatients with tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) or malignant pleural effusions (MPE) frequently have similar pleural fluid profiles. New biomarkers for the differential diagnosis of TPE are required. We determined whether cytokine profiles in the PE of patients could aid the differential diagnosis of TPE. 30 patients with TPE, 30 patients with MPE, 14 patients with empyema (EMP) and 14 patients with parapneumonic effusion (PPE) were enrolled between Dec 2018 and 2019. The levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-18, IL-27, CXCL8, CCL-1 and IP-10 were determined in PE by ELISA along with measurements of adenosine deaminase (ADA). The best predictors of TPE were combined ADA.IL-27 [optimal cut-off value = 42.68 (103 U ng/l2), sensitivity 100%, specificity 98.28%], ADA [cut off value 27.5 (IU/l), sensitivity 90%, specificity 96.5%] and IL-27 [cut-off value = 2363 (pg/ml), sensitivity 96.7%, specificity 98.3%, p ≤ 0.0001]. A high level of IL-6 [cut-off value = 3260 (pg/ml), sensitivity 100%, specificity 67.2%], CXCL8 [cut-off value = 144.5 (pg/ml), sensitivity 93.3%, specificity 58.6%], CCL1 [cut-off value = 54 (pg/ml), sensitivity 100%, specificity 70.7%] and IP-10 [cut-off value = 891.9 (pg/ml), sensitivity 83.3%, specificity 48.3%] were also predictive of TPE. High ADA.IL-27, ADA and IL-27 levels differentiate between TPE and non-TPE with improved specificity and diagnostic accuracy and may be useful clinically.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Adel Salah Bediwy ◽  
Mohamed Gamal A. Elkholy ◽  
Mohamed Mohamed Elbedewy ◽  
Mohamed A. Hasanein

Background. Soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeoid cells-1 (sTREM-1) has recently been found to be high in infected pleural fluid (PF). Objectives. Diagnostic accuracy of PF sTREM-1 for differentiating uncomplicated parapneumonic effusions (UPPEs) from complicated parapneumonic effusions (CPPEs) was evaluated prospectively. Methods. Serum and PF sTREM-1 were measured for 68 patients with parapneumonic and transudative pleural effusion. Results. PF (but not serum) sTREM-1 concentrations were significantly higher in CPPE than in UPPE. Serum and PF sTREM-1 levels were higher in parapneumonic than in transudative groups. PF sTREM-1 had a sensitivity of 85.19% and a specificity of 83.33% at cutoff value of 250.5 pg/mL for differentiating CPPE and UPPE with area under the curve (AUC) of 0.9336. After excluding purulent CPPE cases, sensitivity and specificity became 90.48% and 83.33%, respectively (at the same cutoff value) with AUC of 0.9444. Conclusion. High concentrations of PF sTREM-1 (above 250.5 pg/mL) help to early diagnose and differentiate CPPE from UPPE.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-315
Author(s):  
Haroon Ur Rasheed ◽  
Ejaz Hassan Khan ◽  
Mohsin Shafi ◽  
Ahmad Rafiq ◽  
Ambreen Ali ◽  
...  

Objective: To study the diagnostic accuracy of Adenosine deaminase enzyme (ADA) in the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE).Material and Methods: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in the Pulmonology departments of Lady Reading and Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar and department of Pathology, Khyber Medical College, Peshawar from April 2015 to Jan 2016. A total of 210 tuberculous and non-tuberculous pleural effusion patients were selected through consecutive non-probability sampling techniques. After physical and systemic examination, 3cc of pleural fluid was taken. ADA was estimated by Non-Guisti and Galanti method through the simple colorimetric method. All the data was entered in a specially designed proforma and SPSS v16 was used for statistical analysis.Results: Out of 210 tuberculous and non-tuberculous pleural effusions, the commonest cause of pleural effusion was tuberculosis followed by malignancy. In our study, Pleural fluid ADA levels have sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value( PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 95.5%, 92.3%, 92.4%, and 96% respectively in differentiating tuberculous pleural effusions from non-tuberculous lymphocytes predominant pleural effusions. Conclusion: Tuberculosis is the commonest infectious disease worldwide. A pleural fluid ADA level of ≥ 35 U/L in lymphocyte-predominant effusions makes mycobacterium tuberculosis most likely etiology. This test is not only very sensitive and specific but also it is very cheap, quick, and easy to perform by routine colorimetric method.  


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 1057
Author(s):  
Vishal K. Desai ◽  
Rashmi S. Arora

Background: Exudative pleural effusions are a common diagnostic problem in clinical practice, as the list of causes is quite exhaustive, although sometimes they can be inferred from the clinical picture. In the West the most common cause is Para pneumonic effusions followed by malignancy, while in India it is tubercular effusion followed by malignant effusion. Despite the availability of various tests, there is a need for defining the best diagnostic and cost-effective approach to quickly diagnose and treat exudative pleural effusions. The objectives are to conduct a clinical and etiological study of exudative pleural effusion, to evaluate biochemical profile, cytological profile and radiological profiles of exudative pleural effusion.Methods: Prospective study of 100 patients with exudative pleural effusions. The demographic data was expressed as mean±standard deviation. Comparison between groups was done by Chi-Square test and Fischer exact test for categorical variables and Kruskar-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests for continuous variables.Results: There were 67 males and 33 females. The mean age was 41.6±15.74. The majority were tubercular in origin (67%),13%,8%,3%and 6% were malignant effusions, Synpneumonic effusion, pancreatic effusions and empyema respectively. Diagnosis was not established in 3% of effusions. Massive effusions were seen in 53.8% of malignant effusions and 33.3% of empyemas. Most effusions had a total cell count between 1000 to 5000 cells /mm3.Lymphocyte predominant effusions were seen in 84.6% and 89.6% of malignant and tubercular effusions. 61.5% of malignant effusions had a positive cytology. Tubercular effusion had a pleural fluid ADA more than 40 IU/L. 92.3% of malignant effusion had pleural fluid ADA less than 30IU.Conclusions: Pleural effusion is a commonly encountered in medical practice and in our country, the commonest cause is tuberculosis, as is evidenced from the present study. The initial step in evaluating case of pleural effusion is to establish the cause of pleural effusion which is done by a detailed history, clinical examination and investigations like a chest radiology and pleural fluid analysis. Even in the advanced diagnostic approaches, still detailed clinical history and examination of the patient of the patient is important to make a clinical diagnosis. All suspected cases of pleural effusion should undergo Sonography of the thorax along with routine chest x-ray. Fluid cytology should be done to confirm tuberculosis or to rule out malignancy, which guides the physician for further evaluation of the patient if required.


Author(s):  
Atefeh Fakharian ◽  
Hamidreza Jabbardarjani ◽  
Mohamad Reza Masjedi ◽  
Masoud Shamaei

Background: Pleuroscopy (medical thoracoscopy) is a minimally invasive procedure to inspect and perform a biopsy of the pleural space as well as to perform therapeutic interventions; pleural fluid drainage and pleurodesis. Material and Methods: In a retrospective study in Kasra Hospital, Tehran-Iran, the patients with exudative pleural effusion of unknown etiology who underwent pleuroscopy, were evaluated. These patients had negative smear and culture for infective agents. Also, the cytological review was negative for malignancy. Results: 62 patients had undergone pleuroscopy, of which 29 (46.7) were men. After the final evaluation, 47 patients (75.8%) had a definite pathologic diagnosis, of which 39 (82.9%) were cancer. Through these 39 cases, 18 cases (46.1%) had a history of the previously confirmed cancer, in which pleural pathology was consistent with the initial diagnosis. In 21 cases (53.9%), metastatic cancers were detected without a previous history. From a total of 47 cases with definite pathologic diagnosis, 8 cases (17%) had histopathologic evidence of granulomatous lesions consistent with tuberculosis and 15 patients (24%) showed non-specific inflammatory lesions. There was no morbidity and mortality among these patients. Discussion: Considering that pleuroscopy is a safe procedure with high diagnostic accuracy, malignancy is the most finding in the exudative pleural effusion of unknown etiology. This increases the importance of this procedure in these cases to prevent wasting the time and smear-negative anti-TB treatment.


2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saadet Akarsu ◽  
A. Nese Citak Kurt ◽  
Yasar Dogan ◽  
Erdal Yilmaz ◽  
Ahmet Godekmerdan ◽  
...  

The aim is to examine whether the changes in pleural fluid interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-8 levels were significant in differential diagnosis of childhood pleural effusions. IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-8 levels in pleural fluids of all 36 patients were measured. The levels of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-8 in pleural fluids were statistically significantly higher in the transudate group compared with those of the exudate group. The levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 were also found to be statistically significantly higher in the empyema group compared with both the parapneumonic and the tuberculous pleural effusion groups. The levels of IL-2 and IL-6 were detected to be statistically significantly higher in the tuberculous pleural effusion group in comparison with those of the parapneumonic effusion group. The results showed that pleural fluids IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-8 could be used in pleural fluids exudate and transudate distinction.


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