Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infections rarely affect the pleura, accounting for 5-15% of pulmonary MAC. We report a case of MAC pleural effusion in an otherwise immunocompetent young patient. A 37-year-old healthy female with no past medical history was admitted to the hospital with two weeks of right sided pleuritic chest pain, productive cough, and fever. She was febrile, tachycardic, a...

OBJECTIVE Cytological examination of pleural fluids is a fast, efficient and non-invasive diagnostic method. Identification of malignant effusions bears critical importance in treatment and prognosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of cytopathologic diagnoses in pleural effusions and the cyto-histopathologic correlation rates. MATERIAL AND METHOD A total of 298 pleu...

BACKGROUND Previous studies identifying risk factors for pneumothorax in percutaneous core needle lung biopsies reported inconsistent and contradictory results. OBJECTIVES We aimed to identify independent risk factors for pneumothorax associated with computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous core needle lung biopsy (PCNB). PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 591 biopsy proce...

STUDY OBJECTIVES Pleural fluid cytology and non-image-guided Abrams or Cope biopsies have sensitivities of approximately 30% for detecting malignant mesothelioma, and thoracoscopic biopsy has a sensitivity of approximately 90%. The difference between these two probably relates to obtaining adequate tissue. The use of immunohistochemical stains allows a firm diagnosis to be made from relatively ...

Abstract Background Exudative pleural effusions are often challenging, and on many occasions remain undiagnosed. Hence, a blind closed needle biopsy (CNPB) is extremely relevant against this background. Methods We conducted prospective study, in which CNPB using Cope’s was done patients with exudative effusion. Data were analysed SPSS software. Results Our study included 250 patients, of 140 (5...

Since DeFrancis et al.1 first described needle biopsy of the parietal pleura in 1955, this aid to diagnosis of causes of pleural effusion has received much interest. According to previous reports, needle biopsy has been diagnostic in about one-half of the cases in which it has been used. However, it should be realized that some of these cases were selected and that needle biopsy of the parietal...

BACKGROUND The differential diagnosis of pleural effusions can present a considerable challenge, and the etiology of pleural effusions varies depending on the population studied. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of medical thoracoscopy in the diagnosis of patients with undiagnosed pleural effusions in a Chinese population. METHODS Between July 2005 and June 2014,...

BACKGROUND The most efficient approach to diagnose malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) is still controversial and uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of a combined approach using ultrasound (US)-guided cutting-needle biopsy (CNB) and standard pleural biopsy (SPB) for diagnosing MPE. METHODS Pleural effusions were collected from 172 patients for biochemical and microbiological a...