OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE Malignant pleural effusions occur in the setting of both solid and hematologic malignancies. Pleural effusion caused by leukemic infiltration is an unusual extramedullary manifestation of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with fewer than 20 cases reported (1-11). We report a case of pericardial and pleural effusions in a patient with AML and review the literature. CLINICAL...

Carcinoma of the ovary is the leading cause of death from gynecological cancer in western countries. Ovarian carcinoma is commonly associated with the accumulation of fluid containing malignant cells in the peritoneal, and not infrequently in the pleural cavity. The differentiation of these cells from reactive mesothelial cells is at times difficult. In addition, tumor progression in ovarian ca...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of computed tomography (CT) findings for characterizing pleural effusions with the use of attenuation values. MATERIAL/METHODS One hundred and twenty eight patients with pleural effusions on thoracic CT who underwent thoracentesisis within two weeks were studied. Pleural effusions were classified as exudates or transudates accor...

JOHN LORBER (Sheffield). 'Long-term Prognosis of Subdural Effusions in Infancy.' Of 37 consecutive infants suffering from post-traumatic subdural effusions, 34 survived with an average period of observation of 3 years. There were 28 boys. The technique of management consisted of repeated aspirations until the effusions dried up. This was the only treatment necessary in 19 infants, 11 of whom re...

The aim of this study is to assess the value of cytology in the diagnosis of pleural effusions. It is a retrospective review of the patients with pleural effusions admitted at our clinic in a 8-year period. We evaluated the cytological and diagnostic results of 470 patients. Male to female ratio was 3:1 with a mean age of 38.6 years (range 18-76 years). Samples were processed and evaluated acco...

Loculated pleural effusions are most commonly due to complicated parapneumonic effusions and empyema followed by tubercular pleural effusions and empyema, hemothorax and malignant effusions. Loculations develop due to delayed initiation and inappropriate use of antibiotics and, delayed initiation of pleural space drainage. The presence of loculations and thick viscous fluid leads to failed pleu...

BACKGROUND Many patients with pneumonia develop pleural effusions. Pleural fluid vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels are known to be elevated in complicated parapneumonic effusion and seem to play a major role in the fibrotic process in the pleura. OBJECTIVES To test whether VEGF levels in pleural effusions of infectious origin correlate with the residual pleural thickening. ME...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the diagnostic utility of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and adenosine deaminase (ADA) in tuberculous pleural effusions by determining the best cutoff levels of these two markers for pleural tuberculosis, in the context of the local epidemiological settings in Qatar. METHODS We prospectively studied IFN-γ and ADA levels in the pleural fluid of patients presenting to Hamad G...

The functions of MAIT cells at the site of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in humans are still largely unknown. In this study, the phenotypes and immune response of MAIT cells from tuberculous pleural effusions and peripheral blood were investigated. MAIT cells in tuberculous pleural effusions had greatly enhanced IFN-γ, IL-17F and granzyme B response compared with those in peripheral bloo...

In this study we investigate the diagnostic value of pleural fluid procalcitonin (PCT) in distinguishing infectious and noninfectious etiologies of pleural effusion. We reviewed the medical records of 75 hospitalized patients who underwent thoracentesis between 2011 and 2012. Data on pleural fluid lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), protein, albumin, cell count and differential, pH, Gram stain and cul...