Developing a 'pleural team' to run a reactive pleural service

Pleural disease is increasingly recognised as an important subspecialty within respiratory medicine, especially as cases of pleural disease continue to rise internationally. Recent advances have seen an expansion in the options available for managing patients with pleural disease, with access to local-anaesthetic thoracoscopy, indwelling pleural catheters and thoracic ultrasound all becoming commonplace. Pleural teams usually consist of a range of practitioners who can optimise the use of specialist services to ensure that patients with all types of pleural disease - who have traditionally needed extended admissions - are managed efficiently, often entirely as outpatients. A pleural service can also provide improved opportunities for enhancing procedural skills, engaging in clinical research, and reducing the costs of care. This article explores the justification for dedicated pleural services and teams, as well as highlighting the various roles of hospital personnel who might be most useful in ensuring their success.