WABIP/AABIP statement on therapeutic indications of medical thoracoscopy for benign pleural disease
Source: PubMed Central Open Access, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine
Medical thoracoscopy (MT) is a minimally invasive procedure with a well-established role in the diagnosis and management of malignant pleural disease; however, its therapeutic applications in benign pleural conditions remain variably adopted and inconsistently defined. In response to increasing clinical utilisation and emerging evidence, the World Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (WABIP) and the American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (AABIP) convened a multidisciplinary, international expert panel to develop a consensus statement examining the therapeutic role of MT in benign pleural disease. Six clinically relevant PICO (patient, intervention, comparison and outcome) questions were formulated to guide a systematic literature review of PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane databases from 1980 through 2025. Evidence was appraised using standardised risk-of-bias tools and consensus was achieved using a modified Delphi methodology. This consensus 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, and tuberculous pleural disease. Emphasis is placed on procedural outcomes, complication profiles and comparative effectiveness relative to alternative medical and surgical approaches. The document also highlights key considerations related to patient selection, procedural complexity and
Abstract
Medical thoracoscopy (MT) is a minimally invasive procedure with a well-established role in the diagnosis and management of malignant pleural disease; however, its therapeutic applications in benign pleural conditions remain variably adopted and inconsistently defined. In response to increasing clinical utilisation and emerging evidence, the World Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (WABIP) and the American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (AABIP) convened a multidisciplinary, international expert panel to develop a consensus statement examining the therapeutic role of MT in benign pleural disease. Six clinically relevant PICO (patient, intervention, comparison and outcome) questions were formulated to guide a systematic literature review of PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane databases from 1980 through 2025. Evidence was appraised using standardised risk-of-bias tools and consensus was achieved using a modified Delphi methodology. This consensus 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, and tuberculous pleural disease. Emphasis is placed on procedural outcomes, complication profiles and comparative effectiveness relative to alternative medical and surgical approaches. The document also highlights key considerations related to 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. Overall, it aims to consolidate current knowledge, identify gaps in evidence and provide a practical framework to inform multidisciplinary decision-making and future research on the therapeutic use of MT in benign pleural disease. Shareable abstract This consensus 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, and tuberculous pleural diseases. https://bit.ly/4coFTan short abstract-1