Abstract

Background/Aims: General features, and complications related to the catheter of patients undergoing pleural drainage catheter in Chest Disease Clinic were evaluated. Material and Methods: Data of 40 patients who underwent pleural drainage catheter (Pleuracan(R)) at the State Hospital Chest Disease Clinic between January 2015 and April 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 70.4±14.1 years, 13 were female and 27 male. Twenty-two patients had benign (17 had parapneumonic effusion, 4 had heart failure, 1 had rheumatoid arthritis) and 18 had malign (11 had lung cancer, 4 had breast cancer, 1 had mesothelioma, 1 had colon cancer, 1 had cervical cancer) etiology. In patients with benign etiology, the mean duration of hospitalization was 8.3(3-16) days, while the mean duration of hospitalization in patients with malignant etiology was 14.1(4-25) days. While Pleuracan(R) remained in with a mean of 2.3 (1-9) days in patients with benign etiology, the mean duration of Pleuracan(R) stay in malignant patients was 6.8 (2-25) days. Chemical pleurodesis was applied to 7 of 17 patients with a diagnosis of malignancy. After the procedure, pneumothorax in 1 patient, expansion defect in 1 patient (due to the endobronchial lesion), and air leakage due to patient-induced Pleuracan(R) dislocation in 1 patient were detected. Pleuracan(R) could not be removed due to the arrival of too much fluid as a daily amount in 1 patient. It was found that one patient had undergone an operation due to the parapneumonic effusion returning to empyema and being loculated. Conclusion: Pleural drainage catheter, a minimally invasive method, frequently used by Thoracic Surgery, could be used safely in Chest Disease Clinic too.