{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]],"date-time":"2026-08-29T06:31:41Z","timestamp":1787985101508,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,12]],"date-time":"2025-08-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1754956800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Pleural effusion is a common clinical condition encountered in emergency departments and often requires timely therapeutic intervention. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of ultrasound-guided pigtail catheter drainage in patients presenting with symptomatic pleural effusion. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 134 drainage procedures performed in a tertiary hospital emergency department in 2024. Adult patients who underwent ultrasound-guided drainage were included regardless of primary diagnosis. Results: Clinical improvement was observed in 86.6% of patients, while radiological improvement\u2014assessed only in cases with complete follow-up imaging\u2014was seen in 56.0%. Procedure-related complications were rare (3.7%), and 50% of patients were discharged directly from the emergency department, highlighting the feasibility of ambulatory management. Nearly half of the patients had underlying malignancy and were receiving palliative care. Conclusions: While indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs) are typically used in long-term outpatient settings, our study focused on temporary pigtail catheter drainage performed in-hospital as a symptom-relieving intervention. The findings align with previous studies supporting the safety and effectiveness of small-bore catheter use in this context. Ultrasound-guided pigtail drainage represents a low-risk, patient-centered approach that can reduce the burden on inpatient services and enhance quality of care for individuals with advanced disease. This method may be considered a first-line option in selected patients presenting with large or symptomatic pleural effusions in acute care settings<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14165704","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,12]],"date-time":"2025-08-12T16:30:36Z","timestamp":1755016236000},"page":"5704","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Ultrasound-Guided Pigtail Catheter Drainage of Pleural Effusion in the Emergency Department: Effectiveness, Safety, and Clinical Implications"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Aleksandra","family":"Szymczyk","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214 Gdansk, Poland"},{"name":"Emergency Department, University Clinical Centre, 80-214 Gdansk, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dominik","family":"P\u0142aza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Emergency Department, University Clinical Centre, 80-214 Gdansk, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8219-2912","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariusz","family":"Siemi\u0144ski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214 Gdansk, Poland"},{"name":"Emergency Department, University Clinical Centre, 80-214 Gdansk, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"266","DOI":"10.1016\/0011-5029(92)90007-C","article-title":"Pleural diseases","volume":"38","author":"Light","year":"1992","journal-title":"Dis.-a-Mon."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"44","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1440-1843.2010.01794.x","article-title":"Pearls and myths in pleural fluid analysis","volume":"16","author":"Porcel","year":"2011","journal-title":"Respirology"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1116","DOI":"10.1378\/chest.114.4.1116","article-title":"Efficacy and complications of percutaneous pigtail catheters for thoracostomy in pediatric patients","volume":"114","author":"Roberts","year":"1998","journal-title":"Chest"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.1080\/17476348.2020.1684266","article-title":"Advances in pleural effusion diagnostics","volume":"14","author":"Ferreiro","year":"2020","journal-title":"Expert. Rev. Respir. Med."},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"99","article-title":"The Differential Diagnosis of Pleural Effusions","volume":"137","author":"Sahn","year":"1982","journal-title":"West. J. Med."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"740","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMra1403503","article-title":"Pleural Disease","volume":"378","author":"Light","year":"2018","journal-title":"N. Engl. J. Med."},{"key":"ref_7","first-page":"377","article-title":"Pleural Effusion in Adults-Etiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment","volume":"116","author":"Jany","year":"2019","journal-title":"Dtsch. Arztebl. Int."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.52964\/AMJA.0062","article-title":"Management of Pleural Effusions in Acute Medical Settings: A practical guide","volume":"3","author":"Lee","year":"2016","journal-title":"CPD. J. Acute. Med."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S1","DOI":"10.1136\/thorax-2022-219784","article-title":"British Thoracic Society Guideline for pleural disease","volume":"78","author":"Roberts","year":"2023","journal-title":"Thorax"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e248","DOI":"10.5001\/omj.2021.19","article-title":"Percutaneous Ultrasound-guided Pigtail Catheter for Pleural Effusions: Efficacy and Safety","volume":"36","author":"Jayakrishnan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Oman. Med. J."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.18203\/2349-2902.isj20223600","article-title":"Comparative analysis of pigtail catheter versus intercostal tube drainage for pleural effusion: A tertiary centre study","volume":"10","author":"Khare","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. Surg. J."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"198","DOI":"10.4103\/lungindia.lungindia_229_19","article-title":"The effectiveness of small-bore intercostal catheters versus large-bore chest tubes in the management of pleural disease with the systematic review of literature","volume":"37","author":"Mehra","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lung. India."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1171","DOI":"10.7863\/jum.2004.23.9.1171","article-title":"Sonograpically guided small-bore chest tubes and sonographic monitoring for rapid sclerotherapy of recurrent malignant pleural effusions","volume":"23","author":"Sartori","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Ultrasound Med."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"376","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pedneo.2014.01.002","article-title":"Pigtail catheters versus traditional chest tubes for pneumothoraces in premature infants treated in a neonatal intensive care unit","volume":"55","author":"Wei","year":"2014","journal-title":"Pediatr. Neonatol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Harding, W.C., Halawa, A.R., Aiche, M.M., Zafar, B., Ali, H.J.R., Bashoura, L., and Faiz, S.A. (2025). Pleural Effusion: Shedding Light on Pleural Disease Beyond Infection and Malignancy. Medicina, 61.","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina61030443"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e24","DOI":"10.1016\/j.burns.2014.08.016","article-title":"Percutaneous pigtail catheter in the treatment of pneumothorax in major burns: The best alternative? Case report and review of literature","volume":"41","author":"Sebastian","year":"2015","journal-title":"Burns"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1436","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rmed.2009.04.022","article-title":"Comparison of a large and small-calibre tube drain for managing spontaneous pneumothoraces","volume":"103","author":"Benton","year":"2009","journal-title":"Respir. Med."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"513","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1553-2712.2009.00402.x","article-title":"Outpatient management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax in the emergency department of a community hospital using a small-bore catheter and a heimlich valve","volume":"16","author":"Hassani","year":"2009","journal-title":"Acad. Emerg. Med."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"393","DOI":"10.1097\/TA.0b013e318173f81e","article-title":"Small catheter tube thoracostomy: Effective in managing chest trauma in stable patients","volume":"66","author":"Rivera","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Trauma Acute Care Surg."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1002\/bjs.9377","article-title":"Randomized clinical trial of pigtail catheter versus chest tube in injured patients with uncomplicated traumatic pneumothorax","volume":"101","author":"Kulvatunyou","year":"2014","journal-title":"Br. J. Surg."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"759","DOI":"10.1200\/OP.24.00387","article-title":"Current Trends in Treating Malignant Pleural Effusion: Evidence, Guidelines, and Best Practice Recommendations","volume":"21","author":"Munavvar","year":"2024","journal-title":"JCO Oncol. Pract."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"229","DOI":"10.1097\/LBR.0000000000000707","article-title":"AABIP Evidence-informed Guidelines and Expert Panel Report for the Management of Indwelling Pleural Catheters","volume":"27","author":"Miller","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Bronchol. Interv. Pulmonol."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1735","DOI":"10.1007\/s00270-022-03248-2","article-title":"Tunneled Uncuffed Pigtail Drainage Catheter Placement in Patients with Refractory Ascites or Pleural Effusion: A Single-Center Experience","volume":"45","author":"Arslan","year":"2022","journal-title":"Cardiovasc. Interv. Radiol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Scott, H., and Phil, R. (2024). What You Need to Know About: The Management of Malignant Pleural Effusion. Br. J. Hosp. Med., 85.","DOI":"10.12968\/hmed.2024.0311"}],"container-title":["Journal of Clinical Medicine"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/14\/16\/5704\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T18:25:35Z","timestamp":1760034335000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/14\/16\/5704"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,12]]},"references-count":24,"journal-issue":{"issue":"16","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8]]}},"alternative-id":["jcm14165704"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/jcm14165704","relation":{},"ISSN":["2077-0383"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2077-0383","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,12]]}}}