Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34691309›Full record

ArticleWideochirurgia i inne techniki maloinwazyjne = Videosurgery and other miniinvasive techniques2021

Can intrapleural alteplase treatment be an alternative to videothoracoscopic deloculation and decortication in pleural empyema?

Tayfun Kermenli, Cebrail Azar

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Wideochirurgia i inne techniki maloinwazyjne = Videosurgery and other miniinvasive techniques, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 26% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Enzymatic therapyERJ open research · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
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

2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Tayfun KermenliDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, Istanbul Aydın University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Cebrail AzarDepartment of Chest Diseases, Medical Park Elazığ Hospital, Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Istanbul Aydın University · TRIstinye University · TR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionChest tube drainage is the first step in the management of complicated pleural effusions that have turned into empyema. In cases where adequate drainage cannot be provided or deloculation is required, intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy or surgical deloculation can be performed. Alteplase is a suitable agent for intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy. On the other hand, video-assisted surgery is an effective and minimally invasive treatment option for lung re-expansion.

aimThe effect of intrapleural alteplase irrigation applied through the thoracic tube in the treatment of pleural empyema was investigated and whether it could be an alternative technique to video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was evaluated. MATERIAL AND

methodsThe results of patients who were treated for empyema in our clinic were evaluated retrospectively. Twenty-one patients who underwent tube thoracostomy + intrapleural alteplase and 28 patients who underwent VATS deloculation were included in the study.

resultsThe study included 35 male and 14 female patients. There were 21 patients in group 1, and 28 patients in group 2. The mean age was 50.6. The average length of thoracic tube stay was determined as 7.1 and 6.96 days. The duration of hospital stay in this group was 6.73 and 6.35 days. In 17 (81%) patients in group 1, the treatment was discontinued without the need for surgery.

conclusionsVATS-D is an effective option in the treatment of pleural empyema. However, as seen in our study, intrapleural alteplase application is at least as effective as VATS-D in terms of treatment success.

Indexed as

alteplasedeloculationintrapleural treatmentpleural empyemavideo-assisted thoracoscopic surgery

Identifiers

PMID34691309
PMCPMC8512508
OpenAlexW3130561998

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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Registered trials

None linked

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.