Permanent indwelling catheters in the management of pleural effusions.

The treatment of chronic recurrent pleural effusions continues to evolve with the recent emergence of tunneled indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs). Talc pleurodesis has been the standard of care for treatment of recurrent pleural effusions, but IPCs have gained more favor in recent years. IPCs offer several advantages, including a less invasive procedure, short postprocedure hospital stay, and greater patient control in the management of symptoms. Further randomized controlled studies are needed to more clearly differentiate which patients are better served by an IPC rather than traditional pleurodesis as their initial intervention.