ArticleERJ open research2020
Thoracic ultrasound for malignant pleural effusion: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in ERJ open research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ultrasound Techniques for Suspected Malignant Pleural Effusion and Nonexpandable Lung.CHEST pulmonary · 2026Review
- A deep learning model based on ultrasound imaging to differentiate malignant from benign pleural effusion: a multicenter cohort study.Respiratory research · 2026Article
- Advances in thoracic ultrasound.The European respiratory journal · 2026Article
- Assessment of pleural effusion using intracavitary contrast-enhanced ultrasound: a pilot study.PeerJ · 2026Article
- Lung Ultrasound for Pleural Effusion in Cancer Patients: Advanced Ultrasound for Pleural Lesions-A Narrative Review.Cancers · 2025Review
- Review
- Comparative Evaluation of Chest Ultrasonography and Computed Tomography as Predictors of Malignant Pleural Effusion: A Prospective Study.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Thoracic ultrasound use in hospitalized and ambulatory adult patients: a quantitative picture.The ultrasound journal · 2024Article
- A practical approach to the diagnosis and management of malignant pleural effusions in resource-constrained settings.Breathe (Sheffield, England) · 2023Review
- Malignant pleural disease.Breathe (Sheffield, England) · 2023Review
- A Combination of Ultrasound Characteristics with Macroscopic and Biochemical Features to Diagnose the Etiology of Lymphocytic Pleural Effusions.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Diagnosis and Management of Malignant Pleural Effusion: A Decade in Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Aptamer-siRNA chimera and gold nanoparticle modified collagen membrane for the treatment of malignant pleural effusion.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2022Article
- Diagnostic Accuracy of B-Mode- and Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in Differentiating Malignant from Benign Pleural Effusions.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- ERS International Congress 2020: highlights from the Clinical Techniques, Imaging and Endoscopy assembly.ERJ open research · 2021Review
- Malignant Pleural Effusion: A Multidisciplinary Approach.Open respiratory archivesReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This systematic review aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of thoracic ultrasound in malignant pleural effusion. Articles published until December 2019 in MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform were screened by two authors independently to extract data and evaluate the risks of bias and applicability using the modified Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool. We described the forest plots of each thoracic ultrasound finding. We estimated the pooled sensitivity and specificity of pleural nodularity using the bivariate random-effects model. We included seven articles and found that each thoracic ultrasound finding had low sensitivity. The pooled specificity of pleural nodularity was 96.9% (95% CI 93.2%-98.6%). In conclusion, thoracic ultrasound is not useful in ruling out malignant pleural effusion. Physicians can proceed rigorously to repeat thoracentesis or other invasive procedures when pleural nodularity is detected.
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.