title: Diagnostic value of radiological imaging pre- and post-drainage of pleural effusions.
abstract: Patients with an unexplained pleural effusion often require urgent investigation. Clinical practice varies due to uncertainty as to whether an effusion should be drained completely before diagnostic imaging. We performed a retrospective study of patients undergoing medical thoracoscopy for an unexplained effusion. In 110 patients with paired (pre- and post-drainage) chest X-rays and 32 patients with paired computed tomography scans, post-drainage imaging did not provide additional information that would have influenced the clinical decision-making process.
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, UK.|University of Oxford Respiratory Trials Unit, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Corcoran
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Acton
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Asia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, UK.|University of Oxford Respiratory Trials Unit, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Hallifax
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, UK.|University of Oxford Respiratory Trials Unit, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Psallidas
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, UK.|University of Oxford Respiratory Trials Unit, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK.|NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wrightson
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, UK.|University of Oxford Respiratory Trials Unit, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK.|NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Najib M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, UK.|NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Fergus V
authors.initials: FV
authors.lastname: Gleeson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004322:Drainage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D011184:Postoperative Period; D057234:Preoperative Period; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013906:Thoracoscopy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: chest tube; malignant pleural effusion; pleural disease; pleural effusion; thoracic radiology