Critical Care Volume 4 Suppl 1

Viewing options:  Full text  PDF (2MB) Associated material:  Readers' comments (2) Related literature:  Articles citing this article on Google Scholar  Other articles by authors on Google Scholar Cardon M Müller N Van de Velde M Ghekiere J Vandevelde K Steyaert L Vandermeersch E Bourgeois M on PubMed Cardon M Müller N Van de Velde M Ghekiere J Vandevelde K Steyaert L Vandermeersch E Bourgeois M  Related articles/pages on Google on Google Scholar Tools:  Download citation(s)  Download XML  Email to a friend  Order reprints  Post a comment Post to:  Citeulike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Facebook  Twitter

Pleural Effusions Diagnosis

ABdul Sumar   (01 December 2008)  The Library

That is quite a useful study, although it does not mention exactly how a pleural effusion is diagnosed. Here's some information missing:

The first step to diagnose pleural effusions is a chest x-ray that shows fluids building up around the pleural spaces. A physical examination of the patient is conducted on the basis of medical history. In order to diagnose the patient with pleural effusions, the medical doctor must be able to detect atleast 300mL of fluids using upright chest films. If the level of fluids exceeds 500mL, this indicates clinical signs in the patient such as diminished breath sounds, decreased vocal reflection, etc. Once a pleural effusion is diagnosed, the cause of it must be concluded and this is done via a thoracentesis. A needle is inserted through the chest wall into the pleural space to extract a sample fluid, which is then tested for the following properties:

i) Chemical compositions such as proteins, albumin, amylase, glucose and pH.

ii) Bacterial cells to detect any bacterial infections

iii) Count # of cells

iv) Cytology or the study of cells to identify any malignant cells

v) Other required tests to make a conclusive diagnosis

Source: http://www.themesotheliomalibrary.com

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Sonography pleural effusion diagnosis

Hector Diaz   (15 December 2008)  University Hospital of Sagua la Grande

I strongly agree with Cardon and coworkers. Sonography at present is the must used method to determine the presence of pleural effusion. By the other hand, Dr. Sumar noted that by the clinical method, pleural efussions with not more than 300 ml can not be detected, I state that sonography is able to confirm the presence of minimum amount of pleural effusions, and guided by sonography a closed needle biposy can be performed is neccesary.

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