A different application method of talc pleurodesis for the treatment of persistent air leak.

Persistent air leak is a serious problem that may cause empyema, hypoxia, respiratory insufficiency, and other life-threatening complications. Chemical pleurodesis may be carried out for the treatment of persistent air leak if the lung is fully expanded. However, the standard method of chemical pleurodesis entails clamping the chest tube for a period of time after instillation of the agent. In patients with massive air leak, this would result in a tension pneumothorax. Therefore, standard chemical pleurodesis for persistent air leak is not an appropriate treatment for these patients. In this study, we carried out talc pleurodesis in six patients using an inverted U-shaped chest tube elevated to 60 cm that did not result in tension pneumothorax and mediastinal shift. No recurrence was observed during a mean follow up of 16.2 months.