BACKGROUND The protein neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a mediator synthesized and released by neutrophils. Its physiological function is as yet unclear. Levels in blood increase in several inflammatory diseases. High serum values indicate poor prognosis for several diseases. Pleural effusion may appear as the result of various pathologies. The most common cause is heart fai...

Background: Pleural effusion is a common clinical problem resulting from thoracic or systemic diseases. Several biochemical parameters, serological and cytological markers are used to classify the type of pleural effusion. The oldest classification is Light’s criteria which categorizes exudates by meeting one of these criteria: Pleural to serum protein ratio> 0.5, pleural to serum LDH ratio> 0....

OBJECTIVES: Pleural effusion is a common diagnostic and clinical problem. The differential diagnosis of pleural effusion may be difficult and may require several procedures, including invasive ones. Certain studies have investigated biochemical parameters to facilitate the diagnosis of exudative pleural effusion; however, it remains a challenging problem in clinical practice. We aimed to invest...

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...

Introduction: Medical thoracoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure for diagnosing and treating pleural diseases. Despite its proven role in diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, it is infrequently used, which could be because of cost of equipment and lack of training. We analyzed our initial 3 years record of thoracoscopy at Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, a tertiary care center in Hi...

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...

BACKGROUND Medical thoracoscopy has received interest in recent past for diagnostic as well as therapeutic uses. In this study we describe our experience with diagnostic medical thoracoscopy in pleural effusions of undiagnosed etiology. OBJECTIVE 1.To detect diagnostic yield of medical thoracoscopy in pleural effusions of unknown etiology. 2.To find complication rate in these patients. METH...