This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Aetiology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

A variety of diseases and medications may be responsible for accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavity (1)

The causes of a pleural effusion can be divided into exudative and tansudative - classically exudates having a protein level >30 g/l and transudates <30 g/l. A more accurate differentiation can be made using Light’s criteria (2)

If the protein content of the effusion is not known then the most common causes of a pleural effusion are:

  • infection, e.g. underlying pneumonia
  • tuberculous pleurisy
  • infarction of underlying lung
  • malignancy
  • organ failure, e.g. cardiac, liver, kidney

Although there are various conditions which lead to effusions, majority are idiopathic and tend to follow a benign course (1)

Reference:

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.