Utility of pleural effusion drainage in the ICU: An updated systematic review and META-analysis

•41% of patients admitted to the ICU have a pleural effusion.•Pleural effusion can worsen hemodynamic stability, respiratory mechanics and gas exchange.•Pleural drainage, conversely, can improve the perfusion ventilation ratio by allowing the re-expansion of the collapsed pulmonary parenchyma.•Pleural drainage can improve the perfusion ventilation ratio by allowing the re-expansion of the collapsed lung parenchyma.•Draining a pleural effusion leads to improvements in the ventilation indexes (P/F and EELV)•The available data indicates that the pleural effusion drainage is a safe procedure