Pleural catheters are widely used for patients with pleural effusions. Several complications with limited morbidity have been reported. We report, to our knowledge, the first case of a pleural catheter insertion into the hepatic vein, passed through the inferior vena cava, and the tip reaching the right atrium, which may be reduced using additional imaging during thoracocentesis.

Ventriculopleural shunt is still considered a third-line option for CSF diversion, when both peritoneal and atrial cavity are contraindicated. Different approaches have been used and in modern surgery, lesser invasive techniques are predominant. The goal of this manuscript is to present a minimally invasive placement of a pleural catheter.
We describe a minimally invasive approach to the pleural space using an a-traumatic peel-away introducer under ultrasonographic intraoperative control. Furthermore, consideration about complications, follow-up and advantages of the abovementioned technique will be discussed.
Percutaneous US guided placement for pleural catheter is a safer and modern minimally invasive approach to the pleural space. Pleural effusion is the predominant complication, encountered especially in younger children.

The optimal management of pneumothorax remains undefined. There is a growing consensus that patients with spontaneous pneumothorax can be considered for ambulatory management with the use of a one-way valve. Despite this, there is little data on the outcomes of outpatient management of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (SSP).
At our institution, selected patients with primary and secondary spontaneous pneumothorax who meet the predefined local criteria are managed on an ambulatory pathway. We prospectively evaluated our practice over a 3-year period and explore outcomes of patients with SSP using primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) as a comparator group.
163 consecutive patients presenting to our hospital between September 2014 and July 2017 were evaluated using a predefined protocol. 111 (49 SSP and 62 PSP) were deemed suitable for outpatient management. Resolution on day 5 was similar between the two groups (65% in the SSP vs 79% in the PSP group; p=0.108). The mean drainage time was 5.84 days in SSP compared with 5.69 days in PSP, representing a difference of 0.15 days (95% CI -2.47 to 2.16; p=0.897). Complications such as infection and drain blockage/falling-out were scarce, with comparable pain and satisfaction scores across both groups. There were no deaths during this period. An estimated £86 796 ($113 920) was saved over the study period, equating to £1118.80 ($1550) per patient.
This study suggests that outpatient management of selected patients with SSP may be effective, safe and cost-saving.

Pneumothorax as a complication of pleural catheter insertion could be very dangerous in patients under mechanical ventilation. In ICU patients, physical examination and supine chest x-ray (CXR) are poorly sensitive in diagnosis of pneumothorax. Moreover, CT scan has also disadvantages, such as radiation, high cost, time consuming and need for patient transfer to radiology suit. In comparison to CXR and CT scan, ultrasonography is an available tool for early and rapid detection of this complication. In this study, we reported a 21-year-old woman, a victim of trauma, undergone pleural catheter insertion for drainage of hemothorax. She developed pneumothorax after the procedure. We discuss the usefulness of ultrasonography after pleural catheter insertion and concluded its adequacy and effectiveness in early diagnosis and also follow-up of pneumothorax.

Pleural metastasis is a common occurrence in up to 30% of patients with metastatic cancer. When lung entrapment and loculation of fluid occur, treatment is more difficult and we have named this condition \"oncothorax.\" The malignant adhesions that entrap the lung in an oncothorax are not typically amenable to surgical decortication. The standard approach for managing these patients is to place an indwelling catheter. Other options may include pleurectomy and decortication, intrapleural hyperthermic chemoperfusion, and intrapleural photodynamic therapy. However, these procedures should be provided selectively depending on patient performance status, extent of metastatic disease, and level of experience.

Background Matthys catheters (Matthys drainage A Set, Bösch Feinmechanik und Medizintechnik GmbH, Gottenheim, Germany) are thin catheters with an external diameter of 2.7 mm, which are often used in internal medicine to drain pleural effusions. After puncturing the pleural cavity with a hollow needle the Matthys catheter is advanced through it without resistance. Once the three-way tap on the catheter has been opened, the pleural effusion should flow out. Case Description In our case, the positioning of the Matthys catheter was thought to be completely straightforward but an X-ray check nonetheless revealed malposition. The catheter had been advanced surprisingly over the left upper lobe bronchus across the carina into the right upper lobe bronchus. No thoracic bleeding occurred. Conclusion Although the Matthys catheter was placed endobronchially, we removed it without air leakage. Fortunately, no further problems occurred.

BACKGROUND: Non-small-cell lung cancer patients with malignant pleural effusion have a poor overall median survival (4.3 months). VEGF is a key regulator of pleural effusion production. It is unknown if pharmacological inhibition of VEGF signaling modifies the disease course of non-small-cell lung cancer patients with recurrent malignant pleural effusion. We report the final results of a single-arm phase II clinical trial of the VEGF receptor inhibitor, vandetanib, combined with intrapleural catheter placement in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer and recurrent malignant pleural effusion, to determine whether vandetanib reduces time to pleurodesis.
METHODS: Non-small-cell lung cancer patients with proven metastatic disease to the pleural space using pleural fluid cytology or pleural biopsy who required intrapleural catheter placement were eligible for enrollment. On the same day of the intrapleural catheter insertion, the patients were started on a daily oral dose of 300 mg vandetanib, for a maximum of 10 weeks. The primary end point was time to pleurodesis, with response rate as the secondary end point. Exploratory analyses included measurement of pleural fluid cytokines and angiogenic factors before and during therapy.
RESULTS: Twenty eligible patients were included in the trial. Eleven patients completed 10 weeks of treatment. Median time to pleurodesis was 35 days (95% confidence interval, 15-not applicable). Median time to pleurodesis in the historical cohort was 63 days (95% confidence interval, 45-86) when adjusted for Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≤ 2.
CONCLUSIONS: Vandetanib therapy was well tolerated; however, it did not significantly reduce time to pleurodesis.