UNASSIGNED: Bilothorax is defined as the presence of bile in the pleural space. It is a rare condition, and diagnosis is confirmed with a pleural fluid-to-serum bilirubin ratio of >1.
UNASSIGNED: The PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and CINAHL databases were searched using predetermined Boolean parameters. The systematic literature review was done per PRISMA guidelines. Retrospective studies, case series, case reports, and conference abstracts were included. The patients with reported pleural fluid analyses were pooled for fluid parameter data analysis.
UNASSIGNED: Of 838 articles identified through the inclusion criteria and removing 105 duplicates, 732 articles were screened with abstracts, and 285 were screened for full article review. After this, 123 studies qualified for further detailed review, and of these, 115 were pooled for data analysis. The mean pleural fluid and serum bilirubin levels were 72 mg/dL and 61 mg/dL, respectively, with a mean pleural fluid-to-serum bilirubin ratio of 3.47. In most cases, the bilothorax was reported as a subacute or remote complication of hepatobiliary surgery or procedure, and traumatic injury to the chest or abdomen was the second most common cause. Tube thoracostomy was the main treatment modality (73.83%), followed by serial thoracentesis. Fifty-two patients (51.30%) had associated bronchopleural fistulas. The mortality was considerable, with 18/115 (15.65%) reported death. Most of the patients with mortality had advanced hepatobiliary cancer and were noted to die of complications not related to bilothorax.
UNASSIGNED: Bilothorax should be suspected in patients presenting with pleural effusion following surgical manipulation of hepatobiliary structures or a traumatic injury to the chest. This review is registered with CRD42023438426.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, multisystem autoimmune disease that can manifest in older individuals, presenting unique diagnostic challenges because of its atypical presentations and comorbidities. Pleural effusion is a relatively uncommon manifestation of SLE, with studies suggesting a higher prevalence in older than younger patients. We herein report an atypical case of delayed-onset SLE in a 75-year-old man with left-sided pleural effusion as the initial presentation. This case underscores the difficulty of diagnosing SLE in patients of advanced age and the importance of considering a broad range of differential diagnoses, even in cases that may suggest a more common disease. This case also highlights the fact that unilateral pleural effusion can be an initial manifestation of SLE, and when the cause of the pleural effusion is unclear, SLE should be considered as a potential diagnosis.

Exudative pleural effusion appears as manifestation of underlying specific disease process and pleural biopsy is usually enough to find out the underlying causative disease. The aim of the study was to find out the efficacy of needle biopsy of pleura in the aetiological diagnosis of pleural effusion. This cross-sectional study was conducted for a period of one year from January 2008 to December 2008 in the Department of Medicine, Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, Bogura, Bangladesh enrolling 50 subjects with exudative pleural effusion. The cases with transudative pleural effusion were not included. Needle biopsy was done in all the cases. Histopathological reports of pleural biopsy specimen were correlated with other data and analyzed to detect the causes of effusion. Major incidence of malignant effusion occurred between 41 to 70 years of age. No malignant effusion was found before 30 years of age. Incidence of tuberculous and malignant pleural effusion was much more common in males than in females. Sensitivity and specificity of combined pleural biopsy and pleural fluid analysis in the diagnosis of pleural effusion was 97.06% and 100.% for tuberculosis and 81.82% and 100.0% for malignancy. The present study reveals that pleural biopsy was very effective method in the diagnosis of cause of pleural effusion.

OBJECTIVE: Urinothorax and urinoma are rare complications of obstructive uropathy. They might occur due to persistent high back pressure on the renal parenchyma. Urinothorax usually arises while the obstruction exists; in contrast to our case, the child presented after being operated on. He had falsely high creatinine before the operation, which was later explained by creatinine recirculation.
METHODS: We are reporting an uncommon case of late presentation of ruptured urinoma in a 2-month-old Kuwaiti male. It led to urinothorax/uroperitoneum that caused respiratory distress and was associated with creatinine recirculation, requiring retroperitoneal perinephric catheter insertion. The child had recovered and was discharged home.
CONCLUSIONS: A high index of suspicion is required to diagnose urinothorax, especially in patients with a history of obstructive uropathy. Aspiration of the pleural effusion will guide you to reach the diagnosis. Creatinine recirculation is rarely described in the literature. Having a patient with urinothorax/uroperitoneum should raise the suspicion of falsely elevated creatinine levels.

Pleural effusion is a very common clinical finding. Quantifying pleural effusion volume and its response to treatment over time has become increasingly important for clinicians, which is currently performed via computed tomography (CT) or drainage. To determine and compare ultrasonography (US), CT, and drainage agreements in pleural effusion volumetry. Protocol pre-registration was performed a priori at ( https://osf.io/rnugd/ ). We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library for studies up to January 7, 2024. Risk of bias was assessed using Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2), QUADAS-C, and Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN). Volumetric performances of CT, US, and drainage in assessment of pleural effusion volume were evaluated through both aggregated data (AD) and individual participant data (IPD) analyses. Certainty of evidence was evaluated using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE). Six studies were included with 446 pleural effusion lesions. AD results showed a perfect level of agreement with pooled Pearson correlation and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.933 and 0.948 between US and CT. IPD results demonstrated a high level of agreement between US and CT, with Finn\'s coefficient, ICC, concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), and Pearson correlation coefficient values of 0.856, 0.855, 0.854, and 0.860, respectively. Also, both results showed an overall perfect level of agreement between US and drainage. As for comparing the three combinations, US vs. CT and US vs. drainage were both superior to CT vs. drainage, suggesting the US is a good option for pleural effusion volumetric assessment. Ultrasound provides a highly reliable, to-the-point, cost-effective, and noninvasive method for the assessment of pleural effusion volume and is a great alternative to CT or drainage.

UNASSIGNED: Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is prevalent among cancer patients, indicating pleural metastasis and predicting poor prognosis. However, accurately identifying MPE in clinical settings is challenging. The aim of this study was to establish an innovative nomogram-derived model based on clinical indicators and serum metal ion levels to identify MPE.
UNASSIGNED: From July 2020 to May 2022, 428 patients diagnosed with pleural effusion (PE) were consecutively recruited. Comprehensive demographic details, clinical symptoms, imaging data, pathological information, and laboratory results, including serum metal ion levels, were systematically collected. The nomogram was created by incorporating the most significant predictors identified through LASSO and multivariate logistic regression analysis. The predictors were assigned weighted points based on their respective regression coefficients, allowing for the calculation of a total score that corresponds to the probability of MPE. Internal validation using bootstrapping techniques assessed the nomogram\'s performance, including calibration, discrimination, and clinical applicability.
UNASSIGNED: Seven key variables were identified using LASSO regression and multiple regression analysis, including dyspnea, fever, X-ray/CT compatible with malignancy, pleural carcinoembryonic antigen(pCEA), serum neuron-specific enolase(sNSE), serum carcinoembryonic antigen(sCEA), and pleural lactate dehydrogenase(pLDH). Internal validation underscored the superior performance of our model (AUC=0.940). Decision curve analysis (DCA) analysis demonstrated substantial net benefit across a probability threshold range > 1%. Additionally, serum calcium and copper levels were significantly higher, while serum zinc levels were significantly lower in MPE patients compared to benign pleural effusion (BPE) patients.
UNASSIGNED: This study effectively developed a user-friendly and reliable MPE identification model incorporating seven markers, aiding in the classification of PE subtypes in clinical settings. Furthermore, our study highlights the clinical value of serum metal ions in distinguishing malignant pleural effusion from BPE. This significant advancement provides essential tools for physicians to accurately diagnose and treat patients with MPE.

Pleural effusion, characterized by the accumulation of fluid between the parietal and visceral pleura, presents significant challenges in patient management, particularly in cases of malignant pleural effusion. Despite various therapeutic options, there is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions specifically for pleural effusion patients, as current literature predominantly focuses on medical and surgical treatments. This comprehensive review aims to address this research gap by systematically analyzing the impact of physiotherapy on pleural effusion management, with a focus on symptom relief and improvement in quality of life. The objective is to determine the role of physiotherapy in reducing hospital stay and enhancing patient outcomes. Methodologically, this review synthesizes data from clinical studies and case reports that document physiotherapy interventions, such as breathing exercises, postural drainage, and mobilization techniques, in the treatment of pleural effusion. Our findings suggest that physiotherapy interventions can significantly alleviate dyspnoea and improve respiratory function, contributing to better overall patient outcomes. These results underscore the importance of incorporating physiotherapy into the standard care protocol for patients presenting with pleural effusion to optimize recovery and quality of life.

Pelvic tumours are a rare cause of pleural effusion. We describe an approach to a case of Meigs syndrome with recurrent unilateral pleural effusion. A woman in her 60s\' presented with recurrent right-sided pleural effusion, leading to cough and shortness of breath. Thoracentesis yielded exudative pleural fluid with cytology negative for malignancy. Pleuroscopy revealed inflamed pleura, and pleural biopsy was consistent with inflammatory changes. The patient\'s cancer antigen 125 level was elevated at 256 U/mL. Given the high suspicion of malignancy, a computed tomography scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis was performed and revealed ascites and a large left ovarian and uterine mass. The patient underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salphingo oophorectomy after experiencing three additional episodes of pleural effusion. Histological examination revealed the left ovarian mass to be a cellular fibroma and the uterine masses to be leiomyomata. Following the operation, there was no recurrence of pleural effusion.

Multiple myeloma is a rare haematological malignancy characterised by the clonal proliferation of plasma cells within the bone marrow. Typical manifestations include bone pain, fatigue and monoclonal protein elevation in serum and urine. Less than 1% of cases develop myelomatous pleural effusion, a severe complication indicative of advanced disease and a very poor prognosis.Here, we present a case of a woman with a new diagnosis of multiple myeloma complicated by bilateral myelomatous pleural effusions as the initial presentation. This case underscores the diverse clinical spectrum of multiple myeloma, the significance of timely diagnosis and the threatening implications associated with myelomatous pleural effusions.

This case report and review describes a 31-year-old man with a history of chronic pancreatitis who presented to the hospital with shortness of breath and left-sided chest pain. Three days prior, he underwent mid-splenic artery embolization due to hematemesis attributed to a splenic artery pseudoaneurysm associated with a peripancreatic pseudocyst. Upon this presentation, the patient reported increasing shortness of breath, left-sided pleuritic chest pain, and epigastric and left upper quadrant abdominal pain. Imaging revealed left pleural effusion, splenic infarcts, and adjacent fluid collections. Thoracentesis confirmed an exudative effusion. The pleural effusion was attributed to recent splenic artery embolization, and the patient was discharged on appropriate medications in stable condition on the sixth day of hospitalization. This case underscores the importance of considering embolization-related complications in the differential diagnosis of pleural effusions following such procedures. The etiology, diagnosis, and management of splenic artery aneurysms are discussed in this review.