Analysis of Pleural Effusion Cases Diagnosed with Uniportal Video Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery

Abstract

Objective: The aim of our study is to present and analysis of the pleural effusion (PE) cases diagnosed in the last 5 years by pleural puncture on pleurisy cases arriving at the emergency service, or persistent PE despite being followed up and treated at the pulmonary diseases clinic, or where the character of the fluid cannot be defined and finally treated with uniportal (single port) video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Material and Methods: Between April 2012 and December 2017, it was found that a total of 407 patients with PE. Hospital records of 152 exudative PE (EPE) cases treated by VATS were retrospectively evaluated. The cases were subdivided into four groups on the basis of patient ages of 18-28; 29-39; 40-50 and 51 years and over, the diagnoses made for each group were noted along with the demographic characteristics, hospital stay after VATS and time taken for pleural drainage. Results: A total of 152 EPE cases with a mean age of 54.98 years (18-83 yr); consisting of 97 (63.8%) males were included in this study. The mean stay in our clinic was 7.2 (5-12) days; the mean time for tubed drainage took 4.6 (3-7) days. The causes of EPE were nonspecific pleurisy (NSP) (40.8%), malignancie (30.9%), tuberculosis (TB) (27.0%) and sarcoidosis (1.3%). Conclusion: In the aetiologies of EPE cases, with TB ranking first in underdeveloped countries and malignancies ranking first in the developed countries. In cases treated with uniportal VATS, incidences of TB, malignant pleurisy and malignant mesothelioma diagnoses are high and the procedure is reliable.