LAUSR

Indwelling pleural catheters are at the forefront of treating pleural diseases. The Wayne catheter is widely used for the drainage of pleural effusions, and seamed to be just as effective for benign effusions as a long-term pleural catheter, remaining the doubt of using tunneled or non-tunneled catheters. This is a prospective pilot study, in which 37 patients underwent pleural drainage with a pigtail catheter, adapted to a sterile collector. Patients were discharged after compensation of clinical comorbidities and were followed in the outpatient clinic, still in use of the catheter. 20 patients were female and 17 were male, with mean age of 72 years (53-95 years). The causes were: heart failure (74%), recurrent parapneumonic effusion (5%), renal insufficiency (16%), liver cirrhosis (5%). The mean drainage time was 12.5 days, and hospital stay was 3.3 days. 48.6% of the patients were discharged up to 24 hours after drainage. All patients reported improvement of dyspnea. Indwelling pleural catheters are alternatives to pleurodesis, especially in patients with advanced diseases and severe comorbidities, and allow outpatient care. We believe shorter hospital stays lead to lower infection rates and better recovery. The initial results show that the drain is effective and has a low rate of complications, similar to those of the tunnelled drain and with much lower cost. In conclusion, outpatient use of non-tunneled pleural drainage is safe and effective, with low infection rates, and may represent a good treatment option for recurrent pleural effusion. Studies with greater number of patients are ongoing for a better statistical sample.