The World Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (WABIP) is pleased to announce the publication of a joint consensus statement developed in collaboration with the American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (AABIP), now available in the European Respiratory Review.
Title: WABIP/AABIP statement on therapeutic indications of medical thoracoscopy for benign pleural disease
Read the full, open access article: https://publications.ersnet.org/content/errev/35/180/250327
Overview
While medical thoracoscopy (MT)—also known as pleuroscopy—has a well-established role in the diagnosis and management of malignant pleural disease, its therapeutic applications in benign pleural conditions remain variably adopted and inconsistently defined. In response to increasing clinical use and emerging evidence, WABIP and AABIP convened a multidisciplinary, international expert panel to examine the therapeutic role of MT in benign pleural disease.
The panel formulated six clinically relevant PICO (patient, intervention, comparison, outcome) questions to guide a systematic review of PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases from 1980 through 2025. Evidence was appraised using standardised risk-of-bias tools, and consensus was reached through a modified Delphi methodology.
Key Topics Addressed
The statement summarises the available evidence regarding MT across a spectrum of benign pleural conditions, including:
- Recurrent benign pleural effusions
- Primary and secondary spontaneous pneumothorax
- Empyema
- Tuberculous pleural disease
The document emphasises procedural outcomes, complication profiles, and comparative effectiveness relative to alternative medical and surgical approaches. It also highlights important considerations around patient selection, procedural complexity, and the influence of operator expertise and local resources on clinical outcomes.
Given the heterogeneity of underlying disease processes and the predominance of observational data, this work is presented as a consensus statement rather than a formal clinical practice guideline. Its aim is to consolidate current knowledge, identify evidence gaps, and provide a practical framework to inform multidisciplinary decision-making and guide future research.
Authors
Udit Chaddha, Abhinav Agrawal, Uzair Ghori, Bertin D. Salguero, Nick A. Maskell, Kazuhiro Yasufuku, Samira Shojaee, Labib Gilles Debiane, Horiana B. Grosu, Takahiro Nakajima, Thitiwat Sriprasart, Rajesh Thomas, Ales Rozman, Phillippe Astoul, Adnan Majid, Kiyoshi Shibuya, Carla Lamb, and Pyng Lee.
WABIP extends its sincere thanks to the expert panel and to our colleagues at AABIP for their dedication to advancing the field of interventional pulmonology through this collaborative effort.
We encourage our members and the wider community to read the full statement and consider its implications for clinical practice and research.
Access the full, open access article here → https://publications.ersnet.org/content/errev/35/180/250327
