Table 1 Summary of the included studies
From: Medical thoracoscopy treatment for pleural infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Author | Title | Study year | Type of study | Mono/multicentre | Setting | Study period | Sample size, n | Therapeutic thoracoscopy, n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Solèr [10] | Treatment of early parapneumonic empyema by "medical" thoracoscopy | 1997 | Case series | Monocentre | Switzerland | Dec 1992–Sep 1994 | 16 | 16 (100.0) |
Brutsche [11] | Treatment of sonographically stratified multiloculated thoracic empyema by medical thoracoscopy | 2005 | Retrospective study | Multicentre | Italy/Switzerland | 1989–2003 | 127 | 127 (100.0) |
Ravaglia [12] | Is medical thoracoscopy efficient in the management of multiloculated and organized thoracic empyema? | 2012 | Retrospective observational study | Monocentre | Italy | Jul 2005–Feb 2011 | 41 | 41 (100.0) |
Ohuchi [13] | Single trocar thoracoscopy under local anesthesia for pleural space infection | 2014 | Case series | Monocentre | Japan | Jan 2000–Dec 2012 | 29 | 29 (100.0) |
Xiong [14] | Role of medical thoracoscopy in the treatment of tuberculous pleural effusion | 2016 | Retrospective study | Monocentre | China | Jan 2009–Jun 2014 | 430 | 65 (15.1) |
Abo-El-maged [15] | Safety and efficacy of medical thoracoscopy in the management of loculated thoracic empyema | 2017 | Retrospective observational study | Monocentre | Egypt | Oct 2015–Aug 2016 | 30 | 30 (100.0) |
Hardavella [16] | Hippocrates quoted “If an Empyema Does Not Rupture, Death Will Occur”. Is medical thoracoscopy able to make it rupture safely? | 2017 | Retrospective observational study | Multicentre | UK/Greece | Jan 2001–Nov 2014 | 84 | 84 (100.0) |
Sumalani [17] | Role of medical thoracoscopy in the management of multiloculated empyema | 2018 | Case series | Monocentre | Pakistan | Sep 2014–Aug 2016 | 160 | 160 (100.0) |