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A pleural effusion is accumulation of excessive fluid in the pleural space, the potential space that surrounds each lung.Under normal conditions, pleural fluid is secreted by the parietal pleural capillaries at a rate of 0.6 millilitre per kilogram weight per hour, and is cleared by lymphatic absorption leaving behind only 5–15 millilitres of fluid, which helps to maintain a functional ...
Hydrothorax is the synonym of pleural effusion in which fluid accumulates in the pleural cavity. This condition is most likely to develop secondary to congestive heart failure, following an increase in hydrostatic pressure within the lungs. More rarely, hydrothorax can develop in 10% of patients with ascites which is called hepatic hydrothorax ...
"Third spacing" is the abnormal accumulation of fluid into an extracellular and extravascular space. In medicine, the term is often used with regard to loss of fluid into interstitial spaces, such as with burns or edema, but it can also refer to fluid shifts into a body cavity (transcellular space), such as ascites and pleural effusions. With ...
The pleural cavity, or pleural space (or sometimes intrapleural space), is the potential space between the pleurae of the pleural sac that surrounds each lung. A small amount of serous pleural fluid is maintained in the pleural cavity to enable lubrication between the membranes , and also to create a pressure gradient .
A chest X-ray will show fluid in the alveolar walls, Kerley B lines, increased vascular shadowing in a classical batwing peri-hilum pattern, upper lobe diversion (biased blood flow to the superior parts instead of inferior parts of the lung), and possibly pleural effusions. In contrast, patchy alveolar infiltrates are more typically associated ...
With pleural effusion, fluid often builds up in the costophrenic angle (due to gravity). This can push the lung upwards, resulting in "blunting" of the costophrenic angle. The posterior angle is the deepest. Obtuse angulation is sign of disease. Chest x-ray is the first test done to confirm an excess of pleural fluid.
Because pleural effusion in the pediatric population is almost always parapneumonic and the need for chest tube drainage can be made on clinical grounds, British guidelines for the management of pleural infection in children do not recommend diagnostic pleural fluid sampling. [7]
If the appearance of the fluid is not milky, that does not exclude a chylothorax from consideration. Since chyle is rich in triglycerides, a pleural effusion that is rich in triglycerides (>110 mg/dL) confirms the presence of a chylothorax; a pleural effusion that is low in triglyceride content (<50 mg/dL) virtually excludes the diagnosis.