ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03496987Updated Jul 14, 2023Results posted

Vacuum vs Manual Drainage During Unilateral Thoracentesis

An interventional study of Vacuum Bottle Drainage in Pleural Effusion, Pleural Diseases and Thoracic Diseases, sponsored by Yale University. Completed. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 99 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-07-14.

Sponsored by Yale University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 2 years 4 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Dec 2015, registered Apr 2018).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
100
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 99 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to determine if there are any differences in terms of safety, pain, or drainage speed between thoracenteses via manual drainage vs vacuum suction.

Read the detailed description

Patients with pleural effusions routinely undergo thoracentesis in which a catheter is placed into the pleural space to remove the fluid both for diagnostic and therapeutic reasons. In this setting, large amounts (often liters) of fluid are removed to palliate the patient's symptoms of breathlessness.

Thoracentesis is the most commonly performed and least invasive method to remove pleural fluid. These frequently performed using a catheter drainage system where a small, flexible temporary catheter is inserted over a needle into the pleural cavity. After insertion of catheter into the pleural space, the operator has two drainage system options: 1. Manual drainage via syringe-pump that connects to drainage bag or 2. Drainage into a vacuum bottle. Both are routinely performed in almost every hospital in the United States.

Pleural pressure (Ppl) is determined by the elastic recoil properties of the lung and chest wall. Normal pleural pressure is estimated to be -3 to -5 cm H20 at functional residual capacity. During drainage of pleural fluid, negative pressure is applied either via syringe during manual drainage or via vacuum using vacuum drainage bottle. Hypothetically more negative pressure can translate to increased perception of pain or visceral pleural injury.

Two techniques (manual vs vacuum drainage) are used based on the operator preference and both are standard of care. To our knowledge there is no head to head comparison of these two available systems of drainages during thoracentesis of pleural effusions. Knowing if one is superior to the other will aid future clinicians.

02

Conditions studied

  • Pleural Effusion
  • Pleural Diseases
  • Thoracic Diseases

Keywords

  • Pleural Effusion
  • Pleural Drainage
  • Thoracentesis
03

In context

Pleural Effusion

241 studies on the registry are indexed under Pleural Effusion; 50 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 100 is above the median of 80 across 142 interventional studies indexed under Pleural Effusion.

Browse Pleural Effusion studies →

Lead sponsor

Yale University is the lead sponsor of 1,770 studies on the registry; 294 are open to participants now.

Of its 221 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 129 (58%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 99 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients undergoing unilateral therapeutic thoracentesis

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with a history of prior significant pleural or lung based procedures/surgeries (not a simple thoracentesis)
  • Prior enrollment in this study
  • Patients ability to comprehend and consent to this procedure and clearly communicate any pain or other symptoms that arise from this procedure
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
100 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • No intervention
    Manual Drainage

    Patients undergo drainage of pleural fluid via manual (syringe) system

  • Experimental
    Vacuum Bottle Drainage

    Patients undergo drainage of pleural fluid via a vacuum bottle system (evacuated cylinder)

    Device: Vacuum Bottle Drainage

Interventions

  • DeviceVacuum Bottle Drainage

    Patients undergo drainage via vacuum bottles

    Also known as: Evacuated Cylinder

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pain Change

    Difference in pain between pre-procedural pain and during drainage pain as measured as the difference between a pre-procedural NPSS pain score (range from 0 (no pain) to 10 (maximum pain)). This was asked again during drainage and the difference between the two was recorded. The values ranged from -10 to 10 (with a more negative number representing a decrease in pain and a more positive number representing an increase in pain) The scale used is called The Numeric Pain Rating Scale. With ratings from 0-10. Zero is the least amount of pain experienced while 10 is the worst pain possible.

    Time frame: 5-20 minutes

Secondary outcomes

  1. Time of Drainage

    Actual time of drainage in seconds for each patient.

    Time frame: 5-20 minutes

  2. Number of Patients Who Had an Early Termination of Procedure

    Patients who had procedure termination prior to complete evacuation of the pleural contents (usually as a result of refractory pain or another symptom that the patient perceived).

    Time frame: 5-20 minutes

  3. Number of Patients Who Had a Complication as a Result of the Procedure

    Any complications that occur as a direct result of the procedure. We tracked patients for 7 days after the procedure to capture any complications (which is typical clinical practice)

    Time frame: <7 days

  4. Etiology of Effusion

    Clinical etiology of effusion

    Time frame: <7 days

  5. Volume of Effusion

    Volume of effusion drained (in mL)

    Time frame: <20 minutes

  6. Laterality of Effusion

    Laterality of effusion (left or right)

    Time frame: <20 minutes

07

Results

Posted Aug 31, 2018
Limitations and caveats
This was a single center study with a modest patient size. There was heterogeneity between the two arms of the study which limits interpretation.

Participant flow

Inpatients, who were awake, consentable, and undergoing unilateral thoracentesis

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneManual DrainageVacuum Bottle Drainage
Started4951
Completed4951
Not completed00

Outcome measures

PrimaryPain Change

Difference in pain between pre-procedural pain and during drainage pain as measured as the difference between a pre-procedural NPSS pain score (range from 0 (no pain) to 10 (maximum pain)). This was asked again during drainage and the difference between the two was recorded. The values ranged from -10 to 10 (with a more negative number representing a decrease in pain and a more positive number representing an increase in pain) The scale used is called The Numeric Pain Rating Scale. With ratings from 0-10. Zero is the least amount of pain experienced while 10 is the worst pain possible.

Time frame:
5-20 minutes
Reported as:
Mean · Pre-post NPRS Pain Scale Score
Pain Change
Pre-post NPRS Pain Scale ScoreManual DrainageVacuum Bottle Drainage
Pain Change0.53 ± 1.71.43 ± 2.7
SecondaryTime of Drainage

Actual time of drainage in seconds for each patient.

Time frame:
5-20 minutes
Reported as:
Mean · seconds
Time of Drainage
secondsManual DrainageVacuum Bottle Drainage
Time of Drainage498.5 ± 386.5318.6 ± 193
SecondaryNumber of Patients Who Had an Early Termination of Procedure

Patients who had procedure termination prior to complete evacuation of the pleural contents (usually as a result of refractory pain or another symptom that the patient perceived).

Time frame:
5-20 minutes
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Number of Patients Who Had an Early Termination of Procedure
ParticipantsManual DrainageVacuum Bottle Drainage
Number of Patients Who Had an Early Termination of Procedure18
SecondaryNumber of Patients Who Had a Complication as a Result of the Procedure

Any complications that occur as a direct result of the procedure. We tracked patients for 7 days after the procedure to capture any complications (which is typical clinical practice)

Time frame:
<7 days
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Number of Patients Who Had a Complication as a Result of the Procedure
ParticipantsManual DrainageVacuum Bottle Drainage
Pneumothorax03
Hemothorax01
Clinically Significant Pulmonary Edema01
SecondaryEtiology of Effusion

Clinical etiology of effusion

Time frame:
<7 days
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Etiology of Effusion
ParticipantsManual DrainageVacuum Bottle Drainage
Malignant138
Paramalignant72
Heart Failure78
Hepatic Hydrothorax35
Post-Cardiothoracic Procedure1317
Parapneumonic32
Unknown38
SecondaryVolume of Effusion

Volume of effusion drained (in mL)

Time frame:
<20 minutes
Reported as:
Mean · milliters
Volume of Effusion
millitersManual DrainageVacuum Bottle Drainage
Volume of Effusion1023 ± 6741143 ± 775
SecondaryLaterality of Effusion

Laterality of effusion (left or right)

Time frame:
<20 minutes
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Laterality of Effusion
ParticipantsManual DrainageVacuum Bottle Drainage
Left1723
Right3228

Adverse events

Collected over 1 month following procedure. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Manual Drainage0/49 (0%)0/49 (0%)0/49 (0%)
Vacuum Bottle Drainage0/51 (0%)5/51 (9.8%)0/51 (0%)
Most frequent serious events
Most frequent serious events
EventManual DrainageVacuum Bottle Drainage
PneumothoraxRespiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders0/493/51
Clinically Significant Pulmonary EdemaRespiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders0/491/51
HemothoraxRespiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders0/491/51

Baseline characteristics

Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)Manual DrainageVacuum Bottle DrainageTotal
Mean68.5 ± 16.265.6 ± 15.567 ± 15.8
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)Manual DrainageVacuum Bottle DrainageTotal
Female262248
Male232952
Race and Ethnicity Not Collected
Race and Ethnicity Not Collected(Participants)Manual DrainageVacuum Bottle DrainageTotal
Count of participants——0
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)Manual DrainageVacuum Bottle DrainageTotal
United States4951100
08

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

09

References and documents

Publications

  • Puchalski JT, Argento AC, Murphy TE, Araujo KL, Pisani MA. The safety of thoracentesis in patients with uncorrected bleeding risk. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2013 Aug;10(4):336-41. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.201210-088OC. PubMed 23952852 ↗
  • Jones PW, Moyers JP, Rogers JT, Rodriguez RM, Lee YC, Light RW. Ultrasound-guided thoracentesis: is it a safer method? Chest. 2003 Feb;123(2):418-23. doi: 10.1378/chest.123.2.418. PubMed 12576360 ↗
  • Havelock T, Teoh R, Laws D, Gleeson F; BTS Pleural Disease Guideline Group. Pleural procedures and thoracic ultrasound: British Thoracic Society Pleural Disease Guideline 2010. Thorax. 2010 Aug;65 Suppl 2:ii61-76. doi: 10.1136/thx.2010.137026. No abstract available. PubMed 20696688 ↗
  • Seneff MG, Corwin RW, Gold LH, Irwin RS. Complications associated with thoracocentesis. Chest. 1986 Jul;90(1):97-100. doi: 10.1378/chest.90.1.97. PubMed 3522123 ↗
  • Roth BJ, Cragun WH, Grathwohl KW. Complications associated with thoracentesis. Arch Intern Med. 1991 Oct;151(10):2095-6. doi: 10.1001/archinte.151.10.2095a. No abstract available. PubMed 1929699 ↗
  • Raptopoulos V, Davis LM, Lee G, Umali C, Lew R, Irwin RS. Factors affecting the development of pneumothorax associated with thoracentesis. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1991 May;156(5):917-20. doi: 10.2214/ajr.156.5.2017951. PubMed 2017951 ↗
  • Heidecker J, Huggins JT, Sahn SA, Doelken P. Pathophysiology of pneumothorax following ultrasound-guided thoracentesis. Chest. 2006 Oct;130(4):1173-84. doi: 10.1378/chest.130.4.1173. PubMed 17035453 ↗
  • Josephson T, Nordenskjold CA, Larsson J, Rosenberg LU, Kaijser M. Amount drained at ultrasound-guided thoracentesis and risk of pneumothorax. Acta Radiol. 2009 Jan;50(1):42-7. doi: 10.1080/02841850802590460. PubMed 19052935 ↗
  • Feller-Kopman D, Walkey A, Berkowitz D, Ernst A. The relationship of pleural pressure to symptom development during therapeutic thoracentesis. Chest. 2006 Jun;129(6):1556-60. doi: 10.1378/chest.129.6.1556. PubMed 16778274 ↗
  • BEECH RD. Practical system for thoracentesis using the blood donor set. J Am Med Assoc. 1951 Aug 25;146(17):1597. doi: 10.1001/jama.1951.63670170006011d. No abstract available. PubMed 14861005 ↗
  • ALBERTSON HA, LEAVITT D, GAMBLE JR. A simple method for doing a thoracentesis using a plasma-collecting vacuum bottle. J Thorac Surg. 1954 Nov;28(5):544-5. No abstract available. PubMed 13212859 ↗
  • Puchalski JT, Argento AC, Murphy TE, Araujo KL, Oliva IB, Rubinowitz AN, Pisani MA. Etiologies of bilateral pleural effusions. Respir Med. 2013 Feb;107(2):284-91. doi: 10.1016/j.rmed.2012.10.004. Epub 2012 Dec 7. PubMed 23219348 ↗
  • Petersen WG, Zimmerman R. Limited utility of chest radiograph after thoracentesis. Chest. 2000 Apr;117(4):1038-42. doi: 10.1378/chest.117.4.1038. PubMed 10767236 ↗
  • Kelil T, Shyn PB, Wu LE, Levesque VM, Kacher D, Khorasani R, Silverman SG. Wall suction-assisted image-guided therapeutic paracentesis: a safe and less expensive alternative to evacuated bottles. Abdom Radiol (NY). 2016 Jul;41(7):1333-7. doi: 10.1007/s00261-016-0634-x. PubMed 27315094 ↗
  • Alraiyes AH, Kheir F, Harris K, Gildea TR. How Much Negative Pressure Are We Generating During Thoracentesis? Ochsner J. 2017 Summer;17(2):138-140. No abstract available. PubMed 28638284 ↗

Study documents

PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

10

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from Dec 2015 to primary completion in Sep 2017, 21 months.

Results were first posted in Aug 2018, 11 months after primary completion.

Of 61 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Pleural Effusion, half reached primary completion within 29 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 17 and three quarters within 52. This study's 21 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 63 studies reached it within 26 months; a quarter within 16 and three quarters within 52.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Apr 4, 2018
First posted
Apr 12, 2018
StartActual
Dec 1, 2015
Primary completionActual
Sep 30, 2017
CompletionActual
Mar 1, 2018
Results first posted
Aug 31, 2018
Last update
Jul 14, 2023
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 14, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
11

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03496987
Lead sponsor
Yale University
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Apr 12, 2018
Start date
Dec 1, 2015
Primary completion
Sep 30, 2017
Completion
Mar 1, 2018
Results posted
Aug 31, 2018
Last update
Jul 14, 2023

Study contacts

Jonathan T Puchalski, MD, MEd
principal investigator · Yale University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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