Pleural effusion

Questions of differential diagnosis of syndrome-similar diseases in the medical literature is still not enough, but it is-the most difficult stage of medical practice. This article discusses the stages of diagnostic search in pleural effusion-a syndrome that sometimes confuses the most experienced Clinician. The frequency of this syndrome according to statistics is 300-320 cases per hundred thousand population. This is one of the most common pathologies in therapy, occurring in every tenth patient who turned to the doctor. If you suspect the presence of fluid in the pleural cavity, the doctor must first confirm the presence of fluid and determine its amount, then using the data of the clinical picture of the disease, the results of clinical, functional and laboratory research methods to build a differential diagnostic series and to identify the cause of this syndrome. The article consistently presents several simple and easily perceived diagnostic algorithms that demonstrate the optimal scheme of diagnostic actions of a doctor when diagnosing. The ability to correctly analyze the data of anamnesis, clinical and functional methods of examination and correctly interpret the results of the study of pleural fluid, allow in 90% of cases to correctly diagnose and prescribe effective treatment.

pleural effusion, pleural cavity, computed tomography, pneumonia, darkening syndrome in pulmonary tissue