Why the study?
What is the diagnostic accuracy of thoracentesis and pleural biopsy with a Cope's needle in patients with pleural effusion of unknown origin?
What is the diagnostic accuracy of thoracentesis and pleural biopsy with a Cope's needle in patients with pleural effusion of unknown origin?
Thoracentesis combined with pleural biopsy using a Cope's needle provides high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for tuberculosis and neoplasia in patients with pleural effusion of unknown origin, despite an 11% complication rate.
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May aid evaluation of undiagnosed pleural effusions; leaves open need for prospective validation against modern techniques.
C. Escudero Bueno (1990) studied this question.
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