Abstract:

Aim: Recently, catheters with small diameter are getting popularity in the treatment of pleural effusions. In this study, patients with cystofix catheter mounted for pleural effusion drainage were evaluated in terms of age, gender, underlying pathology, efficacy of treatment and complications. Material and Methods: Data of the 59 patients treated with cystofix catheter due to pleural effusion were evaluated retrospectively. 14 F catheter was applied under local anesthesia from the 7th or the 8th intercostal space dorsal axillary line to patients with massive pleural effusion. Results: The average age was 65.9 ± 13.9 and 37 (62.7%) of patients were male. 11 (18.6%) of the cases were having malign and 48 (81.4%) were having benign etiologies. Etiologic reasons were congestive right heart failure in 30 (50.8%) cases, parapneumonic effusion in 14 (23.7%) cases and primary bronchial carcinoma in 6 (10.2%) cases. Conclusion: The results obtained from this study suggested that cystofix catheter can be used as an alternative minimal invasive technique in benign and malign effusion drainage, because of its small diameter, being easily available and applicable, avoiding clogging and being appropriate for pleurodesis.   Key Words: Pleural effusion, catheters, minimally invasive surgical procedures, heart failure

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