title: [Ambulatory diagnosis of patients requiring a pleural biopsy. Study of 100 consecutive cases].
abstract: Our aim was to describe our experience with outpatients requiring pleural biopsy. The first 100 patients with pleural exudate from whom at least one pleural biopsy specimen was taken on an outpatient basis at our hospital since January 1993. Clinical and radiological signs were recorded for all patients. We also analyzed complications, frequency of use of other diagnostic test and time required for diagnosis. The mean age of the 100 patients (64 men) was 56 years. Outpatient study of these patients was not prevented by the advanced age on the sample (with 35 patients older than 79), the size of the pleural effusions (23 of which were large), or the diagnosis of diseases with poor prognoses (with 43 effusions diagnosed as neoplastic). Complications encountered in taking the biopsy specimens were similar to those reported for other series. The mean time until diagnosis was 7.4 days. Biopsies can often be obtained from patients with pleural effusion on an outpatient basis, even when clinical symptoms vary widely, without increasing the number of complications and within a reasonable period of time.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neumología, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Villena
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: López Encuentra
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Pablo
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Echave-Sustaeta
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alvarez Martínez
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martín Escribano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D001706:Biopsy / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010994:Pleura / Q000473:pathology*; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000473:pathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies