Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32257788›Full record

ArticleRespiratory medicine case reports2020

Efficacy and safety of semi-flexible thoracoscopic cryobiopsy in the diagnosis of elderly tuberculous pleurisy.

Tatsunori Jo, Naoyuki Kuse, Minoru Inomata, Nobuyasu Awano, Mari Tone, Kohei Takada, Hanako Yoshimura, Yuan Bae, Toshio Kumasaka, Takehiro Izumo

Open access · goldAbstract readCase Reports
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Respiratory medicine case reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 42% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Study on the Association Network of Tuberculosis Lesions in Adult Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis in China: A Large-Scale Multicenter Observational Study.The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Tatsunori JoDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, 4-1-22 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8953, Japan.
Naoyuki KuseDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, 4-1-22 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8953, Japan.
Minoru InomataDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, 4-1-22 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8953, Japan.
Nobuyasu AwanoDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, 4-1-22 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8953, Japan.
Mari ToneDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, 4-1-22 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8953, Japan.
Kohei TakadaDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, 4-1-22 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8953, Japan.
Hanako YoshimuraDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, 4-1-22 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8953, Japan.
Yuan BaeDepartment of Pathology, Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, 4-1-22 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8953, Japan.
Toshio KumasakaDepartment of Pathology, Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, 4-1-22 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8953, Japan.
Takehiro IzumoDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, 4-1-22 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8953, Japan.
Japanese Red Cross Medical Center · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThoracoscopic pleural biopsy is an efficient procedure in patients with undiagnosed exudative pleurisy. Rigid or flexible forceps have been widely used for this procedure. Recently, the use of cryo-techniques was reported in pleural biopsy during semi-rigid thoracoscopy; however, the feasibility and safety of pleural cryobiopsy in elderly patients have not yet been fully elucidated. CASE REPORTS: We describe two elderly patients who safely underwent semi-rigid thoracoscopic cryobiopsy and were diagnosed with tuberculous pleurisy. Both were >85 years of age, and chest auscultation revealed reduced breath sounds in the right lower zones. Laboratory investigations revealed an elevated level of C-reactive protein without leukocytosis in both patients. Computed tomography scan of the chest revealed right pleural effusion in both patients. Pleural fluid biochemical analysis results were indicative of an exudate. Sputum cultures demonstrated no bacterial growth and smears were negative for the presence of acid-fast bacilli. For definitive diagnosis, pleural biopsy was performed via thoracoscopic cryobiopsy. Specimens obtained from the cryoprobe demonstrated 200-300-μm caseating and non-caseating epitheloid cell granulomas with Langerhans type giant cells. Based on the above results, both patients were diagnosed with TB pleurisy. Anti-tuberculosis treatment resulted in good clinical outcome in both patients.

conclusionCryobiopsy is easier and more efficient than biopsy with conventional forceps. Our findings in these patients suggest that semi-rigid thoracoscopic cryobiopsy might be a useful alternative diagnostic method for undiagnosed pleural effusion in elderly patients.

Indexed as

CryobiopsyElderlySemi-rigid pleuroscopyTB, tuberculousTuberculous pleurisy

Identifiers

PMID32257788
PMCPMC7118411
OpenAlexW3004372326

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Registered trials

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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.