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James D. Collins, MD; Sharon E. Byrd, MD; Lawrence W. Bassett, MD

JAMA. 1977;237(25):2751-2752.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

A ROUTINE thoracentesis performed on the ward often fails to yield fluid, particularly when only a small amount is present.¹ In such cases, thoracentesis performed under fluoroscopic control offers a safe, quick, and relatively inexpensive method to remove (or introduce) fluid into the pleural space.

At our institution, we have performed more than 100 thoracenteses under fluoroscopic guidance to obtain fluid for diagnosis. The indications have been the following:

1. Suspected small pleural effusion.
   
2. Loculated pleural effusion.
   
3. Repeated, unsuccessful attempts at withdrawal by conventional means.
   
4. Patients who need pleural biopsy as well as thoracentesis. (The thoracentesis catheter can be inserted directly through the Cope biopsy needle.)
   
5. Patients who cannot tolerate upright thoracentesis.
   
6. Patients who need replacement of fluid with a chemical agent
   

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Radiology, University of California, The Center for the Health Sciences, Los Angeles.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to Department of Radiology, University of California, The Center for the Health Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90024 (Dr Collins).

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