SynthesisWorld journal of surgical oncology2020
Talc pleurodesis versus indwelling pleural catheter among patients with malignant pleural effusion: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in World journal of surgical oncology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Talc pleurodesis in malignant pleural effusion: a systematic review and meta-analysis.General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery · 2021Pooled it
- Management of malignant pleural effusions using an indwelling tunnelled pleural catheter and non-vacuum collection system.BMJ open respiratory research · 2026Observational
- Current Trends in Treating Malignant Pleural Effusion: Evidence, Guidelines, and Best Practice Recommendations.JCO oncology practice · 2025Review
- Thoracic Ultrasound for Pre-Procedural Dynamic Assessment of Non-Expandable Lung: A Non-Invasive, Real-Time and Multifaceted Diagnostic Tool.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Exploring the efficacy and advancements of medical pleurodesis: a comprehensive review of current research.Breathe (Sheffield, England) · 2024Review
- Review
- Cost Comparison of Treatment Alternatives for Pleural Effusion and Ascites from a Payer Perspective: Are There Cost Savings from Indwelling Catheters?Journal of palliative medicine · 2023Article
- Failure pattern and radiotherapy exploration in malignant pleural effusion non-small cell lung cancer treated with targeted therapy.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Article
- The Treatment of Malignant Pleural Effusion With Permanent Indwelling Pleural Catheters.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2022Article
- Postoperative outcome after palliative treatment of malignant pleural effusion.Thoracic cancer · 2022Observational
- Treating Recurrent Pleural Disease: A Review of Indications and Technique for Chemical Pleurodesis for the Interventional Radiologist.Seminars in interventional radiology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTalc pleurodesis (TP) and indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) are used for the management of malignant pleural effusion (MPE). Our meta-analysis was conducted to assess the efficacy and safety of both treatments among patients with MPE.
methodsWe acquired pertinent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) by searching PubMed, ScienceDirect, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, Ovid Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The endpoints included survival, pleurodesis rates, total drainage, further pleural interventions, hospital days, symptoms, quality of life (QoL), and complications.
resultsWe included four high-quality RCTs. Both treatments were effective among patients with MPE and no previous pleurodesis, with comparable survival and equivalent relief of breathlessness. Additionally, the TP group had higher pleurodesis rates, less total drainage, and fewer all-grade complications (including catheter blockage and cellulitis). However, patients in the TP group had more pleural procedures and relatively longer hospital stays. Additionally, no apparent difference was detected in QoL.
conclusionsTP has better pleurodesis rates, less total drainage, and fewer all-grade complications. However, TP has more pleural procedures and is not feasible for patients with trapped lungs. IPC has fewer further pleural interventions and shorter hospital stays. However, IPC has the nuisance of long-term in situ draining.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.