Pleural, peritoneal and pericardial effusions – a biochemical approach

DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN BENIGN, REACTIVE AND MALIGNANT CELLS IN SEROSAL BODY FLUIDS BY AgNOR STAINING

Argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) were determined in 94 pleural, pericardial and peritoneal effusions. The results were correlated with cytologic diagnosis to determine the diagnostic potential of this technique. Cytologically the number of normal, reactive and malignant effusions were 32, 28 and 34 respectively. The mean AgNOR counts for normal, reactive and malignant spec...

Role of biochemical tests in the diagnosis of large pericardial effusions.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To determine the biochemical characteristics of large pericardial effusions in various disease states, and to assess their utility as diagnostic tools. SETTING An academic university hospital in the Western Cape, South Africa. DESIGN Consecutive, prospective case series. PATIENTS One hundred ten hospital patients > 12 years old, who presented to the echocardiography depar...

Diagnostic value of the biochemical tests in patients with purulent pericarditis

OBJECTIVES Purulent pericarditis is a collection of purulent effusion in the pericardial space. It has become a rare entity with the increased availability and use of antibiotics. In contrast to pleural empyema, there are few data regarding the biochemical parameters of purulent pericardial effusion to aid diagnosis. Therefore, in this study, we have evaluated the diagnostic utility of biochemi...

The Cytology of Effusions in the Pleural, Pericardial and Peritoneal Cavities

The Surgical Management of Pericardial Effusions in Cancer Patients

Pericardial effusion may appear in any malignancy, but most commonly in lung, breast cancer and lymphoma. Patients in these cases are usually with advanced malignancy and have an overall poor prognosis. The pericardial effusions may be malignant – malignant cells present in the fluid or in the pericardium or epicardium, or nonmalignant. Difference in survival between the two groups is important...