 |
Vol.49 No.3 contents | Japanese/English |
 | Full Text of PDF (536K) Article in Japanese |
- Case Report -
Intrapleural Urokinase for the Treatment of Poor Expansion of Lung with Malignant Pleural Effusion
Shunsuke Tauchi1, Shinya Tane1, Yoshitaka Kitamura1, Kazuya Uchino1, Koichiro Iwanaga1, Masahiro Yoshimura11Department of Thoracic Surgery, Hyogo Cancer Center, Japan
Background. When treating malignant pleurisy, we often cannot achieve complete reexpansion of lungs and control pleural effusion even after thoracic drainage. We report a successfully treated case with intrapleural urokinase for loculated malignant pleural effusion and trapped lung. Case. A 56-year old woman. She had left pleural effusion after operation for left breast cancer. Subsequently the pleural effusion increased remarkably, so she was admitted because of dyspnea on exertion. Thoracic drainage and pleurodesis were performed, but pleural fluid loculation and trapped lung remained. For fibrinolysis, urokinase was administered into the thoracic cavity via an thoracic tube. Immediately after the urokinase administration, the multilocular pleural effusion was resolved and complete pulmonary reexpansion was achieved. She underwent pleurodesis again and was discharged. She died of breast cancer 7 months later, but was able to survive without deterioration of her respiratory condition due to pleurisy. Conclusion. Intrapleural urokinase might be one therapeutic approach for trapped lung caused by malignant pleurisy.
key words: Lung cancer, Malignant pleural effusion, Trapped lung, Urokinase
Received: December 16, 2008
Accepted: February 20, 2009
JJLC 49 (3): 313-316, 2009
