Pleural fluid characteristics of 26 patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma over an 18-year period were reviewed and compared with those of patients with effusions due to other malignancies. Survival from time of initial thoracentesis was directly correlated with pleural pH and decreased pleural fluid/serum glucose ratios but was not related to protein or LDH concentration. Decreased ple...

BACKGROUND Pleural effusion is a rare complication of ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunting and its diagnosis is difficult in patients with neurological and consciousness impairment. CASE REPORT Herein we report the case of a child affected by Pfeiffer syndrome and hydrocephalus, shunted at the age of 3 months, who developed acute respiratory failure due to a right-sid...

background: the alteration of th1 and th2 cytokine levels is the subject of controversy in pleural effusions caused by malignancy, a situation that favors a th2 immune response. objective: to examine the different levels of il-4 and il-10 (th2 cytokines), and il-2 and interferon-γ (ifn-γ) (th1 cytokines) in malignant and non-malignant pleural effusions. method: the cytokine levels in pleural fl...

Malignant mesothelioma has been rare in the general population. In recent decades its incidence has risen dramatically, parallel to the increasing use of asbestos in industry since 1930. Altogether 17,800 asbestos insulation workers, members of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers (AFL-CIO-CLC) in the United States and Canada, were enrolled for prospec...

Background: Pleural effusion is a common condition in pulmonary medicine. Determining the cause of the pleural effusion is a difficult task. The distinction between an exudate and a transudate is the first and the most important step in the differential diagnosis of a pleural effusion. Light’s criterion have been previously used for classifying pleural effusion. There are multiple other biochem...

Up to the end of 1980, 144 confirmed cases of mesothelioma were identified among employees of an organisation using asbestos in manufacturing and insulation. The primary site was peritoneal in 74 cases, pleural in 66, and undetermined in four. All employees had been exposed to amphibole asbestos, and evidence from different factories confirmed the predominant role of crocidolite in the producti...

Pleural effusion or hydrothorax is a relatively rare but well-recognized complication associated with peritoneal dialysis (PD). We describe the successful long term resolution of a patient who developed pleural effusions after starting continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), by altering the PD prescription to normal volume daytime ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (DAPD) transiently befo...

abstract background: pleural effusion is the accumulation of excess fluid in the pleural cavity. most information available about pleural effusion is obtained from studies on adults and little evidence is available in children. therefore, it is necessary to identify the existing status and explain the disease process, signs, treatment, and prognosis. children with pleural effusion who were admi...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To evaluate the usefulness of two new parameters for separating pleural transudates and exudates: pleural fluid cholinesterase level and pleural fluid to serum cholinesterase ratio, and to compare the results with the other well-established criteria. DESIGN Prospective evaluation of the patients referred for diagnostic thoracentesis. SETTING Pulmonary sections of a community...

unilateral malignant pleural effusion as an initial manifestation that leads to the diagnosis of an underlying acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a rare event. early and accurate diagnosis of this case is important for prompt and adequate therapy. we present the case of an18-year-old male who presented to the emergency department with severe respiratory distress. chest x-ray revealed a unilateral ...