Survival time of patients with pleural metastatic carcinoma predicted by glucose and pH studies.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To determine the survival time of patients with pleural metastatic carcinoma diagnosed by thoracoscopy, as related to the pleural glucose and pH levels, and to the extension of pleural neoplastic lesions.

DESIGN

Cohort analytic prospective study. Follow-up of the patients from diagnostic thoracoscopy to death (range: one to 29 months).

SETTING

Referral Pneumology Service at a Tertiary Care Center.

PATIENTS

Consecutive sample of 50 patients with pleural metastatic carcinoma diagnosed by thoracoscopy. Three patients were lost in the follow-up.

INTERVENTIONS

Talc pleurodesis was performed after diagnosis and with the same technique in every case.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS

In all the cases, the extension of the tumorous lesions was determined by thoracoscopy (classified on a scale from 0 to 9) and the survival time was studied from the time that thoracoscopic diagnosis was made. On the same or the previous day as the exploration, blood and pleural fluid glucose levels as well as arterial and pleural pH and gas tensions were determined.