Comparison of sodium tetradecyl sulfate, bleomycin, and talc powder for rat pleurodesis induction

Malignant pleural effusion greatly alters patient’s quality of life and pleurodesis significantly improves this index in these patients. Numerous agents have been introduced for pleurodesis. In this study, sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STS) is used for induction of pleurodesis and its efficacy is compared with other sclerosing agents: talc powder and bleomycin. Randomly divided four groups of rats undergone pleurodesis using STS, bleomycin, talc powder, and normal saline. The efficacy of each agent is investigated both microscopic and grossly. The most severe fibrosis was induced by bleomycin and STS respectively and this fibrosis was statistically significant in microscopic evaluation scales. Grossly the most severe fibrosis was induced by bleomycin. Talc Powder and STS caused less fibrosis but the same degree in gross evaluation. This study demonstrates the efficacy of STS for induction of pleurodesis in rat; however, further studies should be done for evaluation of its safety and efficacy in human subjects.