Comparative Study between Different Agents Used in Chemical Pleurodesis

Background: Pleurodesis is a medical technique used to eliminate the gap among the parietal and visceral pleura in order to avoid the reoccurrence of pleural effusion or pneumothorax.
This method involves the introduction of a chemical substance into the pleural space, which leads to the scarring and adhesion of the membranes.
Objective: The objective of this research was to evaluate the outcomes of medical pleurodesis utilizing three distinct agents and two delivery routes.
Patients and methods: Our university hospital treated 135 individuals who had recurrent malignant and benign pleural effusions with pleurodesis by employing three distinct chemical agents: povidone-iodine solution, bleomycin ampoules, and fresh frozen plasma (FFP), administered by two different methods, namely chest tube and small-bore pigtail catheter.
Results: All patients were dyspneic. Seventy were men; their ages varied from 45 to 76. Chest tubes were used for effusion drainage and sclerosing agent instillation in eighty-seven individuals (64.45 percent), whereas pigtail catheters were used in forty-eight individuals (35.55). With 83 cases of malignant effusion and 52 cases of non-malignant effusion, 60 cases were treated with bleomycin, 30 with fresh frozen plasma (FFP), and 45 with povidone-iodine. Sclerosing agent type was associated with a change in overall success rate.
Conclusion: FFP is a good alternative sclerosing agent to bleomycin and it is safe, available and less costy.