Stopped: To few patients recruited to allow for study completion within ph.d. project.
Pleural fluid can be caused by cancer. Patients with repeated presentation of pleural fluid where initial diagnostic tests have been inconclusive are the focus of this trial. In this clinical trial patients are randomized into two groups and the efficacy of local anesthetic thoracoscopy (LAT) is compared to an ultrasound guided biopsy of the outer lining of the lung. The aim is not only the diagnostic yield in diagnosing cancer, but also the procedures ability to diagnose specific cancer mutations and immune system markings. Methods and objectives: Patients with reoccuring one-sided pleural fluid, with a marked clinical risk of cancer based on findings in medical work-up, radiological scans, biochemistry and medical history and who are undiagnosed upon initial pleural fluid analysis are the target patients of the trial. Patients are randomized into two groups to have undertaken either pleural biopsy at the optimal site for a repeat thoracentesis or LAT. Thus diagnostic yield for both fluid analysis and biopsy analysis will be compared to tissue samples taken with LAT. We hypothesize that LAT is superior both to pleural biopsy and repeat thoracentesis in providing diagnostic clarification and providing sufficient basis for treatment without further procedures resulting in less time consumption, cost and discomfort for the patient.
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Incidence of treatment-guiding pleural workup to provide and plan treatment for the cause of the pleura exudate, local anesthetic thoracoscopy vs 2. thoracentesis
Timeframe: 26 weeks
Incidence of treatment-guiding pleural workup to provide and plan treatment for the cause of the pleura exudate. Local anesthetic thoracoscopy vs US-guided pleural biopsy.
Timeframe: 26 weeks