Pleural Effusion: Aetiology, Clinical Presentation and Mortality Outcome in a Tertiary Health Institution in Eastern Nigeria – A Five Year Retrospective Study

Pleural effusion may be detected clinically when it is moderate to massive but only radiologically when it is mild. Chest x-ray is the commonest radiological approach used in detecting pleural effusion but ultrasound and computerized tomography scan of the chest are important in making a diagnosis. Qureshi et al. [3] in 2009 demonstrated the importance of thoracic ultrasound in differentiating malignant from benign pleural disease in patients presenting with suspected malignant pleural effusion. While Evans et al. [4] working in South Africa have demonstrated a high diagnostic yield of ultrasound guided trans-thoracic fine needle aspiration and ultrasound-assisted cutting needle biopsy in patients with superior vena cava syndrome with associated intra thoracic mass lesion. Cytology and laboratory evaluation of the pleural fluid is required to confirm the aetiologic cause of the effusion [1,5,6].