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Pleural effusion

Effusio pleurae · Pleurální výpotek

What it is

Fluid gathers between lung and chest wall and squashes the lung.

Symptoms & signs

  • Breathlessness
  • dull chest ache
  • dry cough
  • dullness on percussion

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Breathless at rest, or getting worse fast
  • see a doctor soon Fever with chest pain on breathing
  • see a doctor soon Breathlessness growing over days to weeks
  • see a doctor soon Weight loss or night sweats

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Thoracocentesis
  • treat the cause (heart failure, infection, cancer)
  • indwelling pleural catheter
  • pleurodesis

Natural & lifestyle

  • Salt and fluid balance in heart failure
  • nutrition support

Emerging & experimental

  • Talc-coated catheters
  • intrapleural fibrinolytics for empyema

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Chinese herbal formulas for malignant effusion — small, low-quality trials early / small studies
  • Diuretic herbs such as dandelion — traditional; no evidence for effusions anecdotal / traditional
  • Nutritional and protein support when albumin is low — small studies early / small studies

ICD codes