Introduction to the methods used in the generation of the British Thoracic Society guidelines for the management of pleural diseases.

ed bullet points from each of the BTS guidelines for the management of pleural disease In this section the “bullet points” from each of the BTS guidelines for the management of pleural disease are presented together so that they can be easily reproduced and used for teaching, training, A&E handbooks, etc. INVESTIGATION OF A UNILATERAL PLEURAL EFFUSION IN ADULTS Clinical assessment and history • Aspiration should not be performed for bilateral effusions in a clinical setting strongly suggestive of a pleural transudate, unless there are atypical features or they fail to respond to therapy. [C] • An accurate drug history should be taken during clinical assessment. [C]