The impairment of lung function associated with different types of asbestos related disease was examined in 1298 men. The 310 men with circumscribed pleural lesions (plaques) or diffuse pleural thickening without asbestosis were compared with 596 men with asbestosis only and with 322 men with pleural abnormalities and asbestosis, as classified from chest radiographs by ILO pneumoconiosis criter...

STUDY OBJECTIVES To study the ability of positron emission tomography (PET) using 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) to distinguish between benign and malignant disease in exudative pleural effusions and pleural thickening. DESIGN Prospective study of 98 consecutive patients presenting with either pleural thickening or an exudative pleural effusion. SETTING Department of pulmonary medicine of a un...

Since the introduction of video-imaging and endoscopic surgical interventions, there is a worldwide renewed interest in thoracoscopy. However, thoracoscopy for diagnosis of pleural and pulmonary disease has been performed for more than 30 years. An overview is presented here of the results and experiences in the past 3 decades of thoracoscopy for diagnosis of pulmonary and pleural disease. Thor...

A Saudi man underwent repeated percutaneous aspiration of a pleural effusion before a pleural biopsy showed hydatid disease. Subsequent investigations confirmed hydatid disease in the pleura and liver. The patient underwent surgical evacuation and irrigation of the pleural cavity followed by medical treatment for the liver cyst with albendazole, with complete recovery and disappearance of the l...

The burden of pleural disease continues to increase internationally leading to significant healthcare costs and an urgent need for improving management. Pleural effusion is a common presentation for many pulmonary and systemic diseases, and it is estimated that each year 1.5 million people develop a pleural effusion in the USA and 200000–250000 in the UK [1, 2]. Despite the prevalence of pleura...

In this issue of the Journal, two groups of researchers with established experience in asbestos-induced respiratory disease, independently report on patients with prior occupational exposure to asbestos, who developed exuda-tive pleural effusion and/or pleural thickening, while being treated with bromocriptine for Parkinson's disease [1, 2]. Ultimately, the pleural changes were largely reversib...

Pleural malignancies constitute either primary pleural malignancies, such as malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), or secondary pleural tumours, either from pleural metastasis or direct extension of adjacent tumours. Mesothelioma is a rare aggressive tumour of the pleural surfaces associated with prior asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma is also a challenging disease from a diagnostic staging, and ...

Qureshi and colleagues achieved impressive results using thoracic ultrasound (TUS) to predict malignant pleural effusion in their recent study. TUS in their hands compared reasonably well with pleural CT. However, we suggest that pleural CT still remains the gold standard and cannot be replaced by TUS except in situations where access to pleural CT is difficult. First, even in their expert hand...

Background: Chylothorax is a rare condition caused by accumulation of chyle in the pleural cavity (2-3%). More causes are Gorham's disease and tuberculosis
 Case: A 31-year-old male complained swelling left arm shortness breath with recurrent effusion. Pleural fluid analysis showed chylous. Bone survey osteolytic lesions multiple bones as disease. Thoracic CT lung mass, atelectasis, massiv...