Cut & Dried: Malignant Pleural Effusions and Tranexamic Acid in Intracerebral Haemorrhage

Freddy Frost, research fellow in cystic fibrosis in Liverpool, hosts this week’s episode of The Rounds Table with Alex Pickard, trainee in acute and emergency medicine in South London. Together they cover new research on draining malignant pleural effusions and tranexamic acid in intracerebral haemorrhage.

To start, Freddy walks listeners through a multicenter study looking at patients with malignant pleural effusions with indwelling pleural catheters. The study examines whether daily (aggressive) drainage improves patient outcomes and pleurodesis rates compared to a more relaxed drainage approach (symptomatic drainage).

Primary intracerebral haemorrhage makes up around 20% of stroke diagnoses and leads to 50% of mortality in stroke patients. Tranexamic acid has been shown to reduce death due to bleeding in cases of trauma and post-partum haemorrhage. Alex shares the TICH-2 trial and how tranexamic acid may alter outcomes of functional status and death if used in cases of hyperacute primary intracerebral haemorrhage.

Finally, the Good Stuff segment. Freddy and Alex tell listeners about a play from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival called ‘Cepacia – Love Takes His Breath Away’ that depicts the difficulties unique to patients with cystic fibrosis.

Like what you hear? Rate us on iTunes! Chat with us on twitter at @roundstable and tweet at Freddy Frost @Freddy_Frost1 and Alex Pickard @apickard99.

Interested in helping us evaluate our podcast episodes? We’re currently recruiting a panel of residents to serve as regular reviewers for the show. If you’re interested, email wkwong@qmed.ca.