Pleural effusions in patients with chronic liver disease are common and usually are of little consequence. Bilious pleural effusion can occur following percutaneous biopsy or cholangiography procedures if the pleura is traversed. This report emphasizes the role of biliary tract obstruction in the development of a bilious effusion and the importance of biliary tract decompression in treatment. W...

Twenty-three patients with nonspecific pleuritis were studied to determine clinical outcome. After a mean follow-up period of 6 months (1 to 36 months), a diagnosis was reached in 17 patients, while 6 patients remained unknown. The causes of the nonspecific pleuritis diagnosed on initial pleural biopsy were tuberculosis (11 patients, 48%), neoplasm (2 patients, 8.7%), parapneumonic effusion (1 ...

INTRODUCTION The cause of exudative pleural effusion cannot be determined in some patients. The longterm outcomes of patients with undiagnosed pleural effusion were analyzed. METHODS Patients with exudative pleural effusion whose diagnostic procedures included pleural biopsy using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery carried out between 2008 and 2012 were evaluated retrospectively. Patients d...

Intrathoracic disease involving lungs and pleura encountered frequently and remains a challenging clinical problem. The definitive diagnosis of lung or pleural disease some times remain unclear despite thoracocentesis, closed pleural biopsy, transthoracic needle aspiration or bronchoscopy. Recent advances in endoscopic technique, video equipment and development of better instrumentation have co...

BACKGROUND More than 85% of patients develop pleural effusions after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Although the majority resolve spontaneously, post-CABG effusions can persist. The cause of these persistent effusions is unknown, and the histology of the pleural changes has seldom been reported. OBJECTIVES To describe the patient characteristics and pathologic condition of the pleura...

A pleural effusion is an excessive accumulation of fluid in the pleural space. It can pose a diagnostic dilemma to the treating physician because it may be related to disorders of the lung or pleura, or to a systemic disorder. Patients most commonly present with dyspnea, initially on exertion, predominantly dry cough, and pleuritic chest pain. To treat pleural effusion appropriately, it is impo...