SynthesisClinical & experimental metastasis2020
Indwelling pleural catheter versus talc pleurodesis for malignant pleural effusion: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Clinical & experimental metastasis, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Incidence of complications from indwelling pleural catheter for pleural effusion: A meta-analysis.Clinical and translational science · 2023Pooled it
- Talc pleurodesis in malignant pleural effusion: a systematic review and meta-analysis.General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery · 2021Pooled it
- Indwelling pleural catheter efficacy and safety in malignant vs. non-malignant pleural effusions: a prospective study.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2026Article
- Video-assisted thoracoscopy with pleurodesis as treatment of amiodarone induced recurrent pleural effusion.Respiratory medicine case reports · 2026Article
- Current Trends in Treating Malignant Pleural Effusion: Evidence, Guidelines, and Best Practice Recommendations.JCO oncology practice · 2025Review
- The Treatment of Malignant Pleural Effusion With Permanent Indwelling Pleural Catheters.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2022Article
- Treating Recurrent Pleural Disease: A Review of Indications and Technique for Chemical Pleurodesis for the Interventional Radiologist.Seminars in interventional radiology · 2022Review
- Management of Pleural Effusion Secondary to Malignant Mesothelioma.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Review
- Systemic Inflammatory Response to Different Sclerosing Agents as a Predictor of Pleurodesis Outcome.In vivo (Athens, Greece)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) results from primary mesothelioma or the spreading of metastatic cancer. Both talc pleurodesis (TP) and indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) improve MPE symptoms. We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to compare the efficacy of TP with that of IPC in patients with MPE. PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were searched for studies published before February 2020. Individual effect sizes were standardized, and a meta-analysis was conducted to calculate a pooled effect size by using random effects models. In total, 4 trials with 500 patients were reviewed. Difference in pleurodesis success rate and change in dyspnea scores at 4 and 6 weeks between MPE patients treated with IPC and those treated with TP for pleurodesis were nonsignificant. The number of hospital inpatient days was significantly lower among patients who were treated with IPC (weight mean difference: 2.19; 95% confidence interval 0.70-3.67) than among those who were treated with TP. No significant difference was shown in adverse event profile between patients treated with IPC and those treated with TP for pleurodesis. In conclusion, both TP and IPC are equally effective in treating patients with MPE. The number of hospitalization days was significantly lower for patients who were treated with IPC, but the magnitude of the difference is of uncertain clinical importance.
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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.