Intrapleural tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and deoxyribonuclease (DNase) therapy has recently been shown to improve outcomes in pleural infection in a randomized trial. Published literature, to date, consists of only ∼50 patients who had received tPA/DNase. Safety data of this regimen remain limited. Pleural contents often track along chest drains, but the effect of tPA/DNase on subcutaneo...

OBJECTIVE To determine the frequency of hepatic hydrothorax and its association with Child Pugh Class in patients with liver cirrhosis. STUDY DESIGN Descriptive, analytical study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, Medical Unit-III, (Ward- 7), from June 2012 to May 2013. METHODOLOGY All patients with established diagnosis of decompensated chronic live...

A 52-year-old male smoker presented with a 1-week history of fever, left-sided pleuritic chest pain, and body aches. Four days later, cough with hemoptysis developed. He visited the local hospital and was suspected to have left-sided parapneumonic pleural effusion. Repeated attempts at needle aspiration yielded a small amount of pleural fluid, which was exudative with a total leukocyte count of...

OBJECTIVES Adenosine deaminase (ADA) can aid in the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusions, but false-positive findings from lymphocytic effusions have been reported. We studied the ADA levels in a variety of nontuberculous lymphocytic effusions and analyzed the relationships between ADA and conventional hematologic and biochemical parameters. METHODS One hundred six lymphocytic pleural f...

Neurilemmomas are relatively uncommon, slowly growing tumors which originate from Schwann cells. Intrathoracic neurilemmomas often occur in the chest wall and posterior mediastinum, but endobronchial neurilemmomas are exceedingly rare. These tumors in trachea or bronchus are usually detected by radiologic examinations, mostly computed tomography scan of chest. An 88-year-old man was admitted fo...

A cluster of 5 family members, a mother and 4 children, were hospitalized for severe group A Streptococcus (GAS) pneumonia. Three family members had complications: sepsis (1), empyema (2), and a sterile parapneumonic effusion (1). Two additional family members had symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection, and 1 was hospitalized for these symptoms. GAS was isolated from the blood of 1 patie...

Abstract Background Bacterial pneumonia complicated by a para pneumonic effusion is frequently encountered in hospitalized patients. However, identifying the etiology of remains elusive. Published data report rates bacteremia ranging from 13-26% among patients with parapneumonic effusion. Good quality sputum samples are difficult to obtain children. Culture pleural fluid helpful, but most alrea...

Introduction: There are problems in the differential diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion (MPE) and parapneumonic effusion (PPE). We investigated the diagnostic value of levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the discrimination of MPE and PPE. Materials and Methods: Twenty-eight patients with MPE and 21 patients with PPE were assessed. CEA and CRP levels wer...

Introduction: Chest CT is the gold standard method of diagnostic evaluation patients with pneumonia. Lung sonography has been lately explored as an alternative modality to decrease radiation hazards. This study aimed evaluate ability lung ultrasonography in detecting paediatric pneumonia at presentation and follow up comparing findings chest scan. Methods: A cross-sectional observational was pe...