SynthesisCritical care (London, England)2011
Utility and safety of draining pleural effusions in mechanically ventilated patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Critical care (London, England), 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03231072 (Effects of the Pleural Effusion Drainage in Mechanically Ventilated Patients Monitored by Electrical Impedance Tomography and End-Expiratory Lung Volume), which is not on this map. Cited by 28 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects of the Pleural Effusion Drainage in Mechanically Ventilated Patients Monitored by Electrical Impedance Tomography and End-Expiratory Lung Volume
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 87 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pleural Effusion Phenotype and Ultrasound Guidance Approach Associated with Unplanned Pigtail Pleural Catheter Removal in an Adult Intensive Care Unit: A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effects of Thoracentesis in Patients Under Invasive Mechanical Ventilation: A Retrospective Analysis of Clinical and Paraclinical Parameters.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Using point-of-care lung ultrasound to detect post-thoracentesis complications: the hydro-point case report.International journal of surgery case reports · 2026Article
- Role of interventional pulmonology in intensive care units: A scoping review.World journal of critical care medicine · 2025Review
- The Sound of Safety: DIVOT (Doppler Imaging for Vascular Orientation in Thoracic Procedures) Protocol.POCUS journal · 2025Article
- Ventilator-induced Lung Injury Promotes Inflammation within the Pleural Cavity.American journal of respiratory cell and molecular biology · 2024Article
- Complications of ultrasound guided very small-bore chest drains for pleural effusions of different etiology.Journal of thoracic disease · 2024Article
- Pleural Effusion Identified by Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) in Septic Shock: Impact on Clinical Outcomes.POCUS journal · 2024Article
- Pleural effusion in critically ill patients and intensive care setting.World journal of clinical cases · 2023Review
- Risk Factors for Mortality Among Mechanically Ventilated Patients Requiring Pleural Drainage.International journal of general medicine · 2022Article
- Positive pressure-assisted pleural aspiration: A case report of a novel procedure and a review of literature.SAGE open medical case reports · 2022Article
- Evaluation and management of pleural sepsis.Respiratory medicine · 2021Review
- Small Drainage Volumes of Pleural Effusions Are Associated with Complications in Critically Ill Patients: A Retrospective Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Real-time ultrasound-guided thoracentesis in the intensive care unit: prevalence of mechanical complications.The ultrasound journal · 2020Article
- Prevalence, characteristics, drainage and outcome of radiologically diagnosed pleural effusions in critically ill patients.Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine · 2020Article
- Clinically Significant Pleural Effusion in Intensive Care: A Prospective Multicenter Cohort Study.Critical care explorations · 2020Article
- Thoracic ultrasonography: a narrative review.Intensive care medicine · 2019Review
- Assessment of Pleural Effusion and Small Pleural Drain Insertion by Resident Doctors in an Intensive Care Unit: An Observational Study.Clinical medicine insights. Circulatory, respiratory and pulmonary medicine · 2019Article
- Pleural effusion during weaning from mechanical ventilation: a prospective observational multicenter study.Annals of intensive care · 2018Article
- An easier and safe affair, pleural drainage with ultrasound in critical patient: a technical note.Critical ultrasound journal · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
introductionPleural effusions are frequently drained in mechanically ventilated patients but the benefits and risks of this procedure are not well established.
methodsWe performed a literature search of multiple databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, HEALTHSTAR, CINAHL) up to April 2010 to identify studies reporting clinical or physiological outcomes of mechanically ventilated critically ill patients who underwent drainage of pleural effusions. Studies were adjudicated for inclusion independently and in duplicate. Data on duration of ventilation and other clinical outcomes, oxygenation and lung mechanics, and adverse events were abstracted in duplicate independently.
resultsNineteen observational studies (N = 1,124) met selection criteria. The mean PaO2:FiO2 ratio improved by 18% (95% confidence interval (CI) 5% to 33%, I2 = 53.7%, five studies including 118 patients) after effusion drainage. Reported complication rates were low for pneumothorax (20 events in 14 studies including 965 patients; pooled mean 3.4%, 95% CI 1.7 to 6.5%, I2 = 52.5%) and hemothorax (4 events in 10 studies including 721 patients; pooled mean 1.6%, 95% CI 0.8 to 3.3%, I2 = 0%). The use of ultrasound guidance (either real-time or for site marking) was not associated with a statistically significant reduction in the risk of pneumothorax (OR = 0.32; 95% CI 0.08 to 1.19). Studies did not report duration of ventilation, length of stay in the intensive care unit or hospital, or mortality.
conclusionsDrainage of pleural effusions in mechanically ventilated patients appears to improve oxygenation and is safe. We found no data to either support or refute claims of beneficial effects on clinically important outcomes such as duration of ventilation or length of stay.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.