Central intrathoracic venous catheter for draining malignant pleural fluid

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of central intrathoracic venous catheter for drainage and administration of sclerosing agent in treatment of malignant transformation pleural fluid.Methods: Thirty-five patients with malignant pleural effusion were applied with central venous catheters made by Arrow Company.All patients received the closed thoracic drainage and then,were treated by intracavity injection of IL-2 2～3 ×106 IU with a duration of treatment once a week for a consecutive two to four weeks.The therapeutic effects and adverse reactions were observed within month after the treatment.Results: 13 patients got complete recovery,14 partial recovery and 8 no response.The overall effective rate for the treatment was 77.1%(27/35).Conclusion: After draining pleural fluid completely,intracavity injection of IL-2 seems to be effective in treating malignant transformation pleural effusion.