[The diagnostic value of thoracoscopy in pleural mesothelioma].

OBJECTIVE

To analyse the diagnostic value of thoracoscopy in pleural mesothelioma.

METHODS

The image features under thoracoscopy and the histology of 32 patients with pleural mesothelioma were reported. And the diagnostic rate of thoracoscopy was compared with those of chest X-ray, CT, effusion fluid cytology, tomography and the percutaneous needle pleural biopsy.

RESULTS

The diagnostic rate of thoracoscopy in pleural mesothelioma was 100%, and the histologic subtypes were the benign fibrous (5 cases), epithelial (9 cases), fibrosarcoma (12 cases) and the mixed (6 cases). The positive rates of chest X-ray, tomography, pleurography, CT, effusion fluid cytology and the percutaneous needle pleural biopsy were 13%, 33%, 38%, 61%, 15% and 24% respectively.

CONCLUSION

Thoracoscopy was found to be the best method for diagnosing pleural mesothelioma, by which all pleural lesions could be observed and biopsied directly.