A study to compare a single drainage procedure (therapeutic aspiration) versus a standard chest tube for the initial treatment of infected fluid around the lung

Initial Management of Pleural infection: Aspiration vs Chest Tube (IMPACT) trial

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN99134939

Enrollment

172

Registered

2026-01-09

Start date

2026-04-30

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-05-25

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Management of pleural infection Respiratory

Interventions

This study is a prospective, multi-centre randomised controlled study with internal pilot and embedded antibiotic pharmacokinetic (PK) study of adult patients hospitalised with pleural infection. Pati

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

16 Years to 99 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Hospitalised adult patients with a clinical presentation consistent with pleural infection AND requiring initial pleural fluid drainage based on one of the following parameters: 1. Pleural fluid pH =900 3. Pleural fluid glucose 50% of hemithorax on chest radiograph 7. Age >= 16 years

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Excessive bleeding risk in view of the treating clinician 2. Previous pneumonectomy, chest tube/drain, indwelling catheter or recent surgery on side of current pleural infection 3. RAPID score (if calculable) >5 (indicating a high risk of mortality within 3 months) 4. Enrolment onto another study where the burden on the participant will be too high if they are enrolled onto both. Or if the enrolment onto both would compromise one or both of the study’s objectives. To be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Length of initial hospital stay in days measured using patient records at Day 90 measured using patient records	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Proportion of patients readmitted to hospital within 30 days following discharge, measured using patient records 2. Total duration of intravenous antibiotic use in days by 90-day follow-up, measured using patient records 3. Number of pleural procedures performed by 90-day follow-up, measured using patient records 4. Number of rescue therapies performed (fibrinolytics or surgery) by 90-day follow-up, measured using patient records 5. Patient-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measured using EQ-5D-5L at day 7 and day 90 6. Pleural thickening at day 90 (measured on ultrasound) from patient records 7. Mortality at day 90, measured using patient records	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Proportion of patients readmitted to hospital within 30 days following discharge, measured using patient records 2. Total duration of intravenous antibiotic use in days by 90-day follow-up, measured using patient records 3. Number of pleural procedures performed by 90-day follow-up, measured using patient records 4. Number of rescue therapies performed (fibrinolytics or surgery) by 90-day follow-up, measured using patient records 5. Patient-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measured using EQ-5D-5L at day 7 and day 90 6. Pleural thickening at day 90 (measured on ultrasound) from patient records 7. Mortality at day 90, measured using patient records

—

Countries

England, United Kingdom

Contacts

Public ContactDavid Smith

impact@ndm.ox.ac.uk-

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: May 30, 2026