Pleural Effusion
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Basics
Abnormal accumulation of fluid in the pleural space
Description
Types: transudate (low protein/low specific gravity) and exudate (high protein and cellular debris)
- Transudate: Congestive heart failure (CHF): 40%
- Exudates: pneumonia 25%, malignancy 15%, and pulmonary embolism (PE) 10%
- Malignant: lung cancer and metastases of breast, ovary, and lymphoma
Epidemiology
Incidence
Estimated 1.5 million cases per year in the United States; CHF: 500,000; pneumonia: 300,000; malignancy: 150,000; PE: 150,000; cirrhosis: 150,000; tuberculosis (TB): 2,500; pancreatitis: 20,000; collagen vascular disease: 6,000
- Estimated 320 cases per 100,000 people in industrialized countries; in hospitalized patients with AIDS, prevalence is 7–27%.
- No gender predilection: ~2/3 of malignant pleural effusions occur in women.
Etiology and Pathophysiology
- Pleural fluid formation exceeds pleural fluid absorption.
- Transudates result from imbalances in hydrostatic and oncotic forces.
- Increase in hydrostatic and/or low oncotic pressures; increase in pleural capillary permeability; lymphatic obstruction or impaired drainage; movement of fluid from the peritoneal or retroperitoneal space
- Transudates
- CHF: 40% of transudative effusions; 80% bilateral; constrictive pericarditis, atelectasis; superior vena cava syndrome
- Cirrhosis (hepatic hydrothorax); nephrotic syndrome, hypoalbuminemia; myxedema
- Urinothorax, central line misplacement; peritoneal dialysis
- Dressler syndrome (postmyocardial infarction syndrome)
- Yellow nail syndrome: yellow nails, lymphedema and pleural effusion
- Exudates
- Lung parenchyma infection, bacterial (parapneumonic, tuberculous pleurisy), fungal, viral, parasitic (amebiasis, Echinococcus)
- Cancer: lung cancer, metastases (breast, lymphoma, ovaries), mesothelioma
- PE: 25% of PEs are transudate.
- Collagen vascular disease: rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Wegener granulomatosis, sarcoidosis, Churg-Strauss
- GI: pancreatitis, esophageal rupture, abdominal abscess, after liver transplant; chylothorax: thoracic duct tear, malignancy
- Hemothorax: trauma, PE, malignancy, coagulopathy, aortic aneurysm
- Others: after coronary artery bypass graft; uremia, asbestos exposure, radiation; drug induced:
- Drugs: nitrofurantoin, bromocriptine, amiodarone, procarbazine, hydralazine, procainamide, quinidine, methotrexate, methysergide, interleukin-2, mitomycin, practolol, minoxidil, bleomycin, cyclophosphamide, dantrolene, valproic acid, sulfasalazine, minocycline, acebutolol, phenytoin, practolol, minoxidil, methysergide, L-tryptophan, dasatinib.
- Meigs syndrome; yellow nail syndrome; ovarian stimulation syndrome; lymphangiomatosis; acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
- Chylothorax: thoracic duct tear, malignancy, associated with lymphoma
Risk Factors
- Occupational exposures/drugs
- PE, TB, bacterial pneumonias
- Opportunistic infections (in HIV patients when CD4 count is <150 cells/μL)
Commonly Associated Conditions
Hypoproteinemia, heart failure, cirrhosis
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Basics
Abnormal accumulation of fluid in the pleural space
Description
Types: transudate (low protein/low specific gravity) and exudate (high protein and cellular debris)
- Transudate: Congestive heart failure (CHF): 40%
- Exudates: pneumonia 25%, malignancy 15%, and pulmonary embolism (PE) 10%
- Malignant: lung cancer and metastases of breast, ovary, and lymphoma
Epidemiology
Incidence
Estimated 1.5 million cases per year in the United States; CHF: 500,000; pneumonia: 300,000; malignancy: 150,000; PE: 150,000; cirrhosis: 150,000; tuberculosis (TB): 2,500; pancreatitis: 20,000; collagen vascular disease: 6,000
- Estimated 320 cases per 100,000 people in industrialized countries; in hospitalized patients with AIDS, prevalence is 7–27%.
- No gender predilection: ~2/3 of malignant pleural effusions occur in women.
Etiology and Pathophysiology
- Pleural fluid formation exceeds pleural fluid absorption.
- Transudates result from imbalances in hydrostatic and oncotic forces.
- Increase in hydrostatic and/or low oncotic pressures; increase in pleural capillary permeability; lymphatic obstruction or impaired drainage; movement of fluid from the peritoneal or retroperitoneal space
- Transudates
- CHF: 40% of transudative effusions; 80% bilateral; constrictive pericarditis, atelectasis; superior vena cava syndrome
- Cirrhosis (hepatic hydrothorax); nephrotic syndrome, hypoalbuminemia; myxedema
- Urinothorax, central line misplacement; peritoneal dialysis
- Dressler syndrome (postmyocardial infarction syndrome)
- Yellow nail syndrome: yellow nails, lymphedema and pleural effusion
- Exudates
- Lung parenchyma infection, bacterial (parapneumonic, tuberculous pleurisy), fungal, viral, parasitic (amebiasis, Echinococcus)
- Cancer: lung cancer, metastases (breast, lymphoma, ovaries), mesothelioma
- PE: 25% of PEs are transudate.
- Collagen vascular disease: rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Wegener granulomatosis, sarcoidosis, Churg-Strauss
- GI: pancreatitis, esophageal rupture, abdominal abscess, after liver transplant; chylothorax: thoracic duct tear, malignancy
- Hemothorax: trauma, PE, malignancy, coagulopathy, aortic aneurysm
- Others: after coronary artery bypass graft; uremia, asbestos exposure, radiation; drug induced:
- Drugs: nitrofurantoin, bromocriptine, amiodarone, procarbazine, hydralazine, procainamide, quinidine, methotrexate, methysergide, interleukin-2, mitomycin, practolol, minoxidil, bleomycin, cyclophosphamide, dantrolene, valproic acid, sulfasalazine, minocycline, acebutolol, phenytoin, practolol, minoxidil, methysergide, L-tryptophan, dasatinib.
- Meigs syndrome; yellow nail syndrome; ovarian stimulation syndrome; lymphangiomatosis; acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
- Chylothorax: thoracic duct tear, malignancy, associated with lymphoma
Risk Factors
- Occupational exposures/drugs
- PE, TB, bacterial pneumonias
- Opportunistic infections (in HIV patients when CD4 count is <150 cells/μL)
Commonly Associated Conditions
Hypoproteinemia, heart failure, cirrhosis
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