Bhatnagar R, Piotrowska HEG, Laskawiec-Szkonter M, et al. - Researchers investigated the efficacy of thoracoscopy with local anesthesia and administration of talc poudrage vs chest tube placement with local anesthesia and administration of talc slurry at inducing pleurodesis in individuals with malignant pleural effusion. They conducted an open-label, randomized clinical trial at 17 UK hospitals that included 330 patients. They randomized 166 patients to the talc poudrage group in which the patients received 4 g of talc poudrage during thoracoscopy while under moderate sedation and randomized 164 patients to the control group in which the patients underwent bedside chest tube insertion with local anesthesia followed by administration of 4 g of sterile talc slurry. Outcomes revealed no significant difference between thoracoscopic talc poudrage vs chest tube insertion and talc slurry regarding the rate of pleurodesis failure at 90 days (22% vs 24%) among patients with malignant pleural effusion.