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Abstract Pleural effusion cannot be controlled by repeated thoracocentesis (not to mention the hazard of iatrogenic pneumothorax) and surgical pleurectomy may not be considered appropriate for terminally ill patients. It has been suggested that chemical pleurodesis often results in the achievement of the best balance between efficacy and acceptability for terminally ill patients.Bleomycin & viscum both have been evaluated in our study for their efficacy as sclerosing agents and compared against the control group of chest tube thoracostomy alone and against each other.Sixty patients suffering from malignant pleural effusion underwent 60 procedures of pleurodesis with bleomycin, viscum and chest tube thoracostomy alone as a palliative treatment in Thoracic surgery departments at Tanta University Hospital & El Mahlah Chest Hospital, over the period from December 2013 to April 2016.Malignant effusions were proven either by cytological examination with positive malignant cells of the pleural fluid aspirate or by histological examination of positive pleural tissue biopsy for malignant cells.All cases were investigated preoperatively radiologically either by plain chest x-rays or chest CT scanning with either pleural fluid cytology, pleural tissue biopsy or bronchoscopic examinations (if needed). |