A wide range of conditions can present with plural involvement. For this reason patients with pleural disorders may be seen by a number of different specialists. The most common pleural disorders include pleural effusion and pneumothorax. Pleural effusion and pneumothorax are defined as accumulation within the pleural space of fluid and air respectively. The most common disorders responsible fo...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of computed tomography (CT) findings for characterizing pleural effusions with the use of attenuation values. MATERIAL/METHODS One hundred and twenty eight patients with pleural effusions on thoracic CT who underwent thoracentesisis within two weeks were studied. Pleural effusions were classified as exudates or transudates accor...

BACKGROUND Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a highly aggressive tumor that can be difficult to diagnose, resulting in a delayed diagnosis in some cases. Recent studies have reported that determination of soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP) in pleural fluid may be a promising marker for use in the diagnosis of MM. PATIENTS AND METHODS Pleural fluid SMRP concentration was measured in 68 pa...

When a patient with an undiagnosed pleural effusion is evaluated, the first question to answer is whether the patient has a transudate or an exudate. This is best done using Light's criteria, but these criteria occasionally misidentify a transudate as an exudate. If the patient's pleural fluid meets exudative criteria, but the patient appears clinically to have a transudative effusion, then the...

: Over 1.5 million patients are admitted to hospital with pneumonia in the United States each year. Up 50% of them can develop a parapneumonic effusion which is associated higher mortality. The incidence pleural infection continues rise, particularly elderly and those comorbidities. Parapneumonic effusions cover spectrum presentations from free-flowing ‘simple effusion’ septated ‘complicated (C...

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 co...

space near the mid-axillary line. The pleural cavity was exposed. Air was rushing in and out with respiration, with a peculiar hissing sound, and the dome of the diaphragm and the lower margin of the lung were seen moving up and down with expiration and inspiration. There was no subcutaneous emphysema. No blood could be seen in the pleural cavity. The margins of the wound were freely excised in...

Up to 25% of malignant pleural effusions can remain undiagnosed following history, physical examination, thoracentesis, and percutaneous closed pleural biopsy. The next diagnostic procedure is often rigid thoracoscopy, an invasive procedure requiring an operating suite and usually a postprocedure chest tube. We performed flexible fiberoptic pleuroscopy using a fiberoptic bronchoscope in conjunc...

BACKGROUND Tuberculosis kills five lakh patients every year in India, commonest being pulmonary tuberculosis and is often associated with effusion. Delay in diagnosis and treatment results in poor prognosis. Several studies have suggested the role of adenosine deaminase (ADA) in the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusions, but false-positive results from lymphocytic effusions have also been ...

In this study we investigate the diagnostic value of pleural fluid procalcitonin (PCT) in distinguishing infectious and noninfectious etiologies of pleural effusion. We reviewed the medical records of 75 hospitalized patients who underwent thoracentesis between 2011 and 2012. Data on pleural fluid lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), protein, albumin, cell count and differential, pH, Gram stain and cul...