Abstract
Autologous blood pleurodesis in clinical practice has not been evaluated in the treatment of malignant pleural effusions. The aim of this ongoing study is to determine the efficacy and safety of autologous blood pleurodesis versus talc pleurodesis in patients with malignant pleural effusions.
A prospective, randomized trial was carried out in a single centre. Our study has been conducted since March 2009 and by now comprised 21 patients with recurrent malignant pleural effusions. Patients were randomized to autologous blood and talc pleurodesis group. A blood sample of 3 ml/kg was obtained from the patient's brachial vein and immediately given into the intrapleural space. Four grams of talc mixed in 150 mL of normal saline was administered via tube thoracostomy. Patients were followed up with chest radiographs at 3 days and 1 month after pleurodesis.
Eight patients were randomly assigned to the autologous blood-treated group and 11 to the talc-treated group until January 2012. Two patients were ineligible due to rapid progression of systemic disease and death. The median age was 60,7 years. The success rate was 75 % (6/8) in autologous blood group and 82 % (9/11) in talc group. There was no statistically difference between the groups in regard to success rates (p<0.574). No severe or life-threatening adverse experiences were noted in the study. Chest pain is the most frequent minor complication in talc group.
According to these preliminary results, we have found that pleurodesis using both autologous blood and talc showed high efficacy for controlling malignant pleural effusions.
- © 2012 ERS