BACKGROUND Thoracoscopy with a semirigid instrument is a recent technique for diagnosing pleural diseases. The purpose of this study was to report diagnostic yield and complications of the method. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with pleural effusion of unknown origin and/or pleural irregularities suspicious for pleural malignancy were included after less invasive means of diagnosis had failed....

Hyaluronic acid (HA) was determined with a radiometric assay in the serum and pleural fluid of 85 patients with pleural effusions, including 15 with malignant mesothelioma, 32 with other cancer, 31 with nonmalignant inflammatory diseases, and seven with congestive heart failure. With a cutoff level at 100 mg/L, the pleural fluid concentration of HA was raised in 73 percent of patients (11 of 15...

There have been no systematic studies of diseases causing pleural effusion in Qatar. This prospective, hospital-based study involved all adult patients (> 15 years) with pleural effusions who were admitted to referral hospitals over a 1-year period. A total of 200 cases of pleural effusion were identified (152 males and 48 females); mean age 45.1 (SD 18.5) years. A majority of patients (73.5%) ...

Pleural effusions associated with malignancy (either malignant or paramalignant) pose diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas for the clinician. This article reviews the common causes of malignant and paramalignant pleural effusions, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, chest radiography, pleural fluid characteristics, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. Talc, used either by poudrage or slurry, is...

OBJECTIVES Chest ultrasonography is a useful diagnostic tool for the detection of pleural effusions of different etiologies. Our purpose was to determine whether the echogenic swirling pattern identifiable on real-time chest ultrasonographic images is a predictor of malignant pleural effusions in patients with malignancies. DESIGN Medical records of patients undergoing chest ultrasonography i...

Background. Thoracotomy is one of the hardest surgical incisions to deal with and easy leading to atelectasis or pneumonia. Investigation of minimally invasive techniques has been the major concern for surgeons. To explore the feasibility of local anesthesia in thoracotomy including minithoracotomy and Video-Assistant Thoracic Surgery (VATS) for diagnosis and treatment of Pleura-pulmonary disea...

Thoracoscopy is currently the gold standard for the diagnosis and treatment of pleural diseases. Its diagnostic yield is 95% in patients with malignant pleural disease, with approximately 90% successful pleurodesis for malignant pleural effusion and 95% for pneumothorax. At the same time, thoracoscopy constitutes an important tool in the research of pleural pathophysiology and molecular biology...

OBJECTIVES Report of an unusual case of pancreatic fistula in a child. BACKGROUND Pancreatic diseases are relatively uncommon in the pediatric age group, with a rather heterogeneous clinical picture from generic abdominal distension to massive pleural effusion. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The amylase analysis of pleural liquid is crucial for the etiologic diagnosis of pancreatitis with internal panc...

Thoracoscopy is currently the gold standard for the diagnosis and treatment of pleural diseases. Its diagnostic yield is 95% in patients with malignant pleural disease, with approximately 90% successful pleurodesis for malignant pleural effusion and 95% for pneumothorax. At the same time, thoracoscopy constitutes an important tool in the research of pleural pathophysiology and molecular biology...

Introduction: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common lethal disease that its clinical symptoms may be seen in many other diseases. Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is a valuable diagnostic modality for detection of PE. In addition, it can accurately detect the other diseases with clinical symptoms similar to PE. The aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency of PE and nonemboli...