Abstrakt

Medical thoracoscopy is closely linked to pleural effusions. Pleural effusions are frequent in pulmonary medicine. Approximately 1.5 million new pleural effusions are diagnosed and ~ 180,000 thoracenteses are performed annually in the U.S. [1, 2]. Thoracentesis provides a definitive or presumptive diagnosis in up to 3/4 of cases, if anamnesis, additional diagnostic investigations, and imaging as chest X-ray, CT scan, and thoracic ultrasound are included [3, 4]. Thoracoscopy is a procedure that gives access to the pleural space with an endoscope and offers direct visualization of the pleural space and intrathoracic structures. It allows tissue sampling or to perform interventions under direct visual guidance. Today, medical thoracoscopy (MT) is set apart from surgical thoracoscopy, also called ‘‘video-assisted thoracic surgery’’ (VATS). The first is carried out mostly under (analgo-)sedation and local anesthesia, the latter mostly under general anesthesia and single-lung ventilation. MT is partly in competition with VATS because of an overlap in indications. Recently, in some countries there has been an increase in numbers of MT, because of less invasivity, less complexity, and lower costs. Growth in the field of interventional pulmonology along with the evolution of sedation techniques and development of flex–rigid thoracoscopes has brought MT to the forefront. Several centers have opened ‘‘pleural disease’’ programs, and MT is a key component of the interventional pulmonology programs there [5, 6].

Autoreninformation

Autoren

• F. Stanzel^{1, 2}
• R. Heine³

Abteilungen

• ¹ Lungenzentrum Hemer-Hamm, Pneumologie – Thorakale Endoskopie, Lungenklinik Hemer,
• ² Klinik für Hämatoonkologie, Pneumologie und Palliativmedizin, Evangelisches Krankenhaus Hamm,
• ³ Medizinische Klinik III – Pneumologie, Beatmungsmedizin, Hämatologie/Onkologie, Krankenhaus St. Elisabeth & St. Barbara, Halle an der Saale

Adresse

Dr. med. Franz Stanzel
Lungenzentrum Hemer-Hamm
Pneumologie – Thorakale Endoskopie
Lungenklinik Hemer
Theo-Funccius-Straße 1
58675 Hemer
und
Klinik für Hämatoonkologie, Pneumologie und Palliativmedizin
Evangelisches Krankenhaus Hamm
Werler Straße 110
59063 Hamm
Email: [email protected] und [email protected]

Citation