BACKGROUND Many patients with pneumonia develop pleural effusions. Pleural fluid vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels are known to be elevated in complicated parapneumonic effusion and seem to play a major role in the fibrotic process in the pleura. OBJECTIVES To test whether VEGF levels in pleural effusions of infectious origin correlate with the residual pleural thickening. ME...

A 16-month-old Holstein heifer with a history of anorexia and respiratory distress was referred to the Veterinary Research and Teaching Hospital of Tehran University. Heart and lung sounds were inaudible on the left side but greatly increased on the right side. On electrocardiography (ECG), decreased amplitudes of ECG parameters were observed. Ultrasonography results revealed a pleural effusion...

A 16-month-old Holstein heifer with a history of anorexia and respiratory distress was referred to the Veterinary Research and Teaching Hospital of Tehran University. Heart and lung sounds were inaudible on the left side but greatly increased on the right side. On electrocardiography (ECG), decreased amplitudes of ECG parameters were observed. Ultrasonography results revealed a pleural effusion...

A Pleural fluid accumulates when pleural fluid formation exceeds pleural fluid absorption. Normally, fluid enters the pleural space from the capillaries in the parietal pleura and is removed via the lymphatics situated in the parietal pleura 1 . Fluid can also enter the pleural space from the interstitial spaces of the lung via the visceral pleura or from the peritoneal cavity via small holes i...

Pleural effusion is a common clinical problem. In the normal state, the pleural cavity is bathed in a small volume of physiologic pleural fluid containing mainly macrophages and lymphocytes. The volume of the pleural fluid can increase dramatically with most pathologic conditions affecting the pleura. The pleural effusion will alter the respiratory mechanics, commonly resulting in dyspnea. It i...

BACKGROUND High pleural fluid levels of neurone-specific enolase (NSE) have been reported, not only in patients with small cell lung cancer but also in those with chronic inflammatory diseases. METHODS NSE concentrations were determined in pleural fluid and serum from 342 patients with pleural effusions including 17 with rheumatoid arthritis. RESULTS The median NSE concentration in pleural ...

Pleural epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a rare malignancy of vascular-endothelial origin with non-specific symptoms and an unpredictable outcome. Diagnosis of this condition by imaging modalities is challenging, and no standard therapeutic approaches have been established in this regard. In this paper, we described the case of a patient with a low-grade fever, coughing and chest pain ...

This prospective study was conducted to detect physiological pleural fluid using chest ultrasonography in healthy children, to assess frequency of this finding, to check the general status of pleural space and to describe possible individual variations of the amount of pleural fluid present in healthy children. Chest ultrasonography of both pleural spaces was performed in a group of 100 randoml...

The normal pleural space contains approximately 1 ml of fluid. Pleural fluid is filtered in the parietal pleural compartment from the systemic capillaries down a small pressure gradient into the pleural space. Pleural fluid secretion is greatest at the apex while absorption is maximum towards the diaphragm and mediastinum, where the parietal lymphatics are concentrated. The fluid is drained out...