SynthesisEuropean respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society2022
Sensitivity and complications of thoracentesis and thoracoscopy: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gravity- vs Wall Suction-Driven Large-Volume Thoracentesis: A Randomized Controlled Study.Chest · 2024Trial
- A Review of Analgesic and Anaesthetic Approaches in Local Anaesthetic (Medical) Thoracoscopy.Pulmonary therapy · 2026Review
- Clinical Utility of Pleural Tissue Debris Incidentally Obtained During Drainage of Pleural Effusion: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- A Three-Step Diagnostic Strategy for Malignant Pleural Effusions.Cancer medicine · 2026Article
- Diagnostic evaluation of pleural effusion in patients with non-small lung cancer affects time to diagnosis and treatment initiation.Journal of thoracic disease · 2026Article
- Review
- The Evolving Role of Medical Thoracoscopy for the Management of Malignant Pleural Effusion.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Review
- Head-to-head comparison of the diagnostic accuracy of pleural fluid, serum carcinoembryonic antigen, and their ratio for malignant pleural effusion: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of thoracic disease · 2025Article
- Effects of light's criteria on the diagnostic accuracy of pleural fluid carcinoembryonic antigen concentrations for malignant pleural effusion.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Intercostal Artery Screening with Color Doppler Thoracic Ultrasound in Pleural Procedures: A Potential Yet Underexplored Imaging Modality for Minimizing Iatrogenic Bleeding Risk in Interventional Pulmonology.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Comparison of diagnostic yield and complication of medical thoracoscopy using Flexible Bronchoscope versus Semi-Rigid Pleuroscope among Hospitalized Patients with Pleural Effusion (FLEXPLEUR): a retrospective observational study.Journal of thoracic disease · 2025Article
- Influence of age and sex on the diagnostic accuracy of pleural fluid carcinoembryonic antigen for malignant pleural effusion: aFrontiers in oncology · 2025Article
- High diagnostic accuracy of flexible thoracoscopy for distinguishing tuberculous from malignant pleural effusions.American journal of translational research · 2025Article
- Unveiling a rare haemorrhagic malignant pleural effusion: The role of medical thoracoscopy in diagnosing primary pleural angiosarcoma.Respirology case reports · 2024Article
- Use of medical thoracoscopy in managing pleural malignancy.Breathe (Sheffield, England) · 2024Article
- Diagnostic value and safety of medical thoracoscopy in undiagnosed pleural effusions-a prospective observational cohort study.Journal of thoracic disease · 2024Article
- Ultrasound-Assisted and Ultrasound-Guided Thoracentesis: An Educational Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Safety and Diagnostic Yield of Medical Pleuroscopy (MP) Performed under Balanced Analgosedation by a Pneumological Team Compared to Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS): A Retrospective Controlled Real-Life Study (TORAPO).Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Medical thoracoscopy with cryobiopsy as diagnostic tool for pleural metastatic in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: a rare case report.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2024Article
- Application of ultrasound-guided medical thoracoscopy in patients with small amounts or without pleural effusion.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThoracentesis and thoracoscopy are used to diagnose malignant pleural effusions (MPE). Data on how sensitivity varies with tumour type is limited.
methodsSystematic review using PubMed was performed through August 2020 to determine the sensitivity of thoracentesis and thoracoscopy for MPE secondary to malignancy, by cancer type, and complication rates. Tests to identify sources of heterogeneity were performed. Study quality was assessed using Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS)-2 and National Institutes of Health quality assessment tools. Publication bias was tested using funnel plots.
resultsMeta-analyses for sensitivity of thoracentesis for MPE secondary to malignancy, mesothelioma and lung and breast cancer included 29, eight, 12 and nine studies, respectively. Pooled sensitivities were 0.643 (95% CI 0.592-0.692), 0.451 (95% CI 0.249-0.661), 0.738 (95% CI 0.659-0.836) and 0.820 (95% CI 0.700-0.917), respectively. For sensitivity of thoracoscopy for MPE secondary to malignancy and mesothelioma, 41 and 15 studies were included, respectively. Pooled sensitivities were 0.929 (95% CI 0.905-0.95) and 0.915 (95% CI 0.871-0.952), respectively. Pooled complication rates of thoracentesis and thoracoscopy were 0.041 (95% CI 0.025-0.051) and 0.040 (95% CI 0.029-0.052), respectively. Heterogeneity was significant for all meta-analyses. Funnel plots were asymmetric.
interpretationSensitivity of thoracentesis varied significantly per cancer type. Pooled complication rates were low. Awareness of how sensitivity of thoracentesis changes across cancers can improve decision-making when MPE is suspected.
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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.