Distinguishing malignant from benign pleural effusions using routine cytology is a common diagnostic problem. Recently, genetic alterations, including microsatellite instability (MSI) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH), have been described in malignant pleural effusions and proposed as methods improving diagnostics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a panel of molecular markers for the de...

OBJECTIVE We wanted to describe the retrospective CT features of subtle pleural metastasis without large effusion that would suggest inoperable lung cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS We enrolled 14 patients who had open thoracotomy attempted for lung cancer, but they were proven to be inoperable due to pleural metastasis. Our study also included 20 control patients who were proven as having no pl...

BACKGROUND The nonspecific clinical presentation and paucibacillary nature of tuberculous pleuritis remains a challenge for diagnosis. Diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion depends on the demonstration of the presence of tubercle bacilli in the sputum, pleural fluid, or pleural biopsy specimen, or demonstration of granuloma in pleura by histological examination. We examined the clinical uti...

Aim: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of pleural fluid ADA for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion taking the cut off value of ADA as ≥ 40 mg/dl. Methods: It was a prospective, analytical study comprised of 220 patients having pleural effusion. Sputum smear examination and sputum culture for mycobacterium tuberculosis, pleural fluid examination for protein, glucose, cell c...

Interleukin (IL)-1 is a key cytokine in inflammatory reactions. To clarify the mechanism of inflammation in the pleural cavity, we investigated the contribution of IL-1 and its antagonism to inflammatory processes in the pleural cavity. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) levels as well as IL-1 beta and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) levels were measured by enzyme immunoassay in pleural ef...

cpc , pleural effusion

Many pleural fluid markers have been evaluated for diagnosis of tubercular pleural effusion, but none has been found to be ideal as they lack in sensitivity or specificity, difficulty in performing or difficult availability etc. Some of these markers include serum CA 125, pleural alkaline phosphatase, pleural fluid Procalcitonin concentration, pleural fluid Interleukin-1, pleural tumor necrosis...

INTRODUCTION Pleural effusions are a common clinical problem and affect about one million people in the United States and United Kingdom each year. Over 60 causes of pleural effusion have been identified; establishing the definitive aetiology can be difficult, and often requires invasive procedures. Guidelines state that macroscopic examination of the fluid should be the first step in determini...

Pleural thickenings can be caused by asbestos exposure and may evolve into malignant pleural mesothelioma. While an early diagnosis plays the key role to an early treatment, and therefore helping to reduce morbidity, the growth rate of a pleural thickening can be in turn essential evidence to an early diagnosis of the pleural mesothelioma. The detection of pleural thickenings is today done by a...

BACKGROUND Tuberculous pleuritis remains the commonest cause of exudative effusions in areas with a high prevalence of tuberculosis and histological and/or microbiological confirmation on pleural tissue is the gold standard for its diagnosis. Uncertainty remains regarding the choice of closed pleural biopsy needles. OBJECTIVES This prospective study compared ultrasound-assisted Abrams and Tru...