title: [Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in diagnosis and treatment of pleuritis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate possibilites of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in diagnosis and treatment of pleuritis. 1997-2002 in Department of Thoracic Surgery and Oncology of Vilnius University Institute of Oncology 206 patients underwent videothoracoscopic procedures (146 (70.8%) of them for pleuritis). All procedures were performed in general anesthesia using double lumen tube. Mean patient age was 61+/-10 years. One hundred three women (71%) and 43 men (29%) were operated. Seventy four (51%) chemopleurodesis was performed with pleural biopsies: for 2 patients (1.36%) bleocine was used, and for 74 patients (50.6%) sterile talk.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significance of pleural videobiopsies reaches 93%. Eleven patients (7%) failed in diagnosis: in 5 cases (3.4 %) due to adhesions, in 6 cases (3.4%) we made false positive diagnosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  postoperative pneumonia - 12 patients (8.8%), pneumothorax - 2 patients (1.5%), pleural empiema - 1 patient (0.75%), bleeding - 1 patient (0.75%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Specificity of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in pleural diseases reaches 93.0%. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is necessary even in cases of failed "blind" biopsies and possible in elderly patients. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery provides not only easy morphologic verification of pleural diseases but also performance of chemopleurodesis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Oncology, Vilnius University, Santariskiu 1, 2021 Vilnius, Lithuania. vuoipiscikas@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Dainius Amerigas
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Piscikas
authors.forename: Saulius
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cicenas
authors.forename: Algirdas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jackevicius
authors.forename: Arnoldas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krasauskas
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jakubauskiene
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001706:Biopsy; D001761:Bleomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D016724:Empyema, Pleural / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D008297:Male; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000175:diagnosis; D008875:Middle Aged; D010994:Pleura / Q000473:pathology; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary; D010998:Pleurisy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D018700:Pleurodesis / Q000379:methods*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000209:etiology; D011030:Pneumothorax / Q000209:etiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013627:Talc / Q000008:administration & dosage; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted
chemical_list: D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D001761:Bleomycin; D013627:Talc