Approximately 1.5 million people develop a pleural effusion in the United States each year.
1 There are many different causes of pleural effusions (Box 1). When a patient is seen who …

The first step in the evaluation of patients with pleural effusion is to determine whether the
effusion is a transudate or an exudate. An exudative effusion is diagnosed if the patient …

SYNOPSIS OF RECOMMENDATIONS A summary of the initial management of patients
admitted to hospital with suspected community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is presented in …

Patients with primary pneumothorax are best initially treated with aspiration and, if this is
successful, hospitalization is usually not necessary. Patients with secondary pneumothorax …

Background Intrapleural fibrinolytic agents are used in the drainage of infected pleural-fluid
collections. This use is based on small trials that did not have the statistical power to …

This guideline has assessed available evidence and attempted to gauge consensus opinion
where evidence is unavailable. The lack of paediatric data, in particular from randomised …

Background: The aim of this study was to identify key factors on admission predicting the
development of complicated parapneumonic effusion or empyema in patients admitted with …

CONTENTS Introduction and definitions.................................................... 409 Indications for
thoracoscopy….................................................. 410 Equipment for thoracoscopy …

Background Pleural infection is common, and has a> 30% major morbidity and mortality—
particularly when infection is caused by Gram-negative, Staphylococcus aureus or mixed …

The diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis (plTB) by the analysis of pleural effusions (PEs) with
standard diagnostic tools is difficult. In routine clinical practice, the present authors …