Severe Adverse Reactions Induced by the Chest Injection of Elemene: ？An Analysis of 7 Cases

Background and objective Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) refers to pleural effusion which arises from primary malignant tumor of pleura or other pleural metastatic tumors. Injection of elemene in chest makes good effect on the treatment of MPE, and is widely used in clinic. Adverse effects also exist, but the severe adverse effects and relevant managements are rarely reported. The aim of this study is to observe the adverse reactions induced by the treatment of malignant pleural effusion through elemene injection and to explore the solutions. Methods A retrospective analysis was made on 14 cases of patients receiving intra-pleural injections with elemene, and the incidence of severe adverse reactions of 7 cases were disscussed in detail. Results Most of the severe adverse reactions caused by elemene were severe chest pain, dyspnea, wheezing, clouding of consciousness and coagulopathy. Conclusion Strict screening, full preprocessing and close monitoring are necessary to prevent serious adverse reactions caused by elemene injection in the treatment of malignant pleural effusion.？