Methodical recommendation for the student’s self work. Topic «Pleurisyand pleural effusion. Etiology, pathogenesis, path morphology, clinical picture, diagnostics, differential diagnosis, treatment»

Abstract

Pleural disease remains common, affecting over 3000 people per million population each year. It therefore presents a significant contribution to the workload of respiratory physicians. Pleural disease originates from a wide range of pathologies and a systematic approach to the investigation and management is therefore required. The evaluation of the patient with a pleural effusion requires a systematic history (including the duration of the effusion), physical examination, and pertinent laboratory tests to formulate a prethoracentesis diagnosis. Over 40% of patients with community-acquired pneumonia develop an associated pleural effusion ('para-pneumonic' effusion) and about 15% of these become secondarily infected.