A 72-year-old woman with a history of hypertension presented with progressive swelling of the right posterior chest wall that had been present for two days following a diagnostic thoracentesis. She ...

Thoracentesis may be performed for diagnosis or therapy. The classical pattern of examination includes inspection of the respiratory system, palpation, percussion (tapping) and auscultation. Diagnosis ...

Empyema is considered to be a sub-classification of parapneumonic pleural effusion. A parapneumonic effusion describes the build-up of activated pleural fluid which is associated with a lung infection ...

A 36-year-old man who was undergoing long-term hemodialysis was hospitalized with a two-day history of increasing dyspnea on exertion. He stated that he did not have cough, orthopnea, or night sweats.

Gathering of initial clinical data guided by the differential diagnosis can orient care by identifying patients in need of urgent evaluation and by highlighting possible etiologies. The initial ...

Use of routine thoracentesis in addition to medical therapy yielded no significant benefits for adults with heart failure and pleural effusions, according to a new study. For patients with acute heart ...