Pleural Effusion by International Scleroderma Network (ISN)

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Pleural Effusion

This page was written by Shelley Ensz, and medically edited by Dolores Vázquez-Abad, M.D. Scleroderma (SD) affects everyone differently. Just because something is listed here does not mean an individual patient will ever experience it. See Disclaimer

What is Pleural Effusion?
Treatments
Sources

Personal Stories
References

What is Pleural Effusion?

Pleural Effusion is fluid in the lining of the lungs. In scleroderma, this is usually caused by inflammation (rather than infection.) Sometimes there are no symptoms, and it is just discovered on a chest x-ray.

The classic symptom is sharp chest pain, which is worsened by taking a deep breath. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, cough, hiccups, rapid breathing, abdominal pain, and joint stiffness.

Diagnostic tests include: chest X-ray, thoracentesis, pleural fluid analysis, thoracic CT, chest MRI, and serum sodium.⁽¹⁾

Pleural involvement in systemic disorders. Frequently, these diseases affect organ systems outside the thorax as their primary manifestation, but may involve the pleura as a single presenting feature, as part of multisystem involvement, or as an isolated manifestation of a disease that is otherwise quiescent. PubMed. Curr Drug Targets Inflamm Allergy. 2004 Dec;3(4):441-7.

Chest Pain, Chronic Many different types of problems can cause discomfort, shortness of breath, pain with swallowing, and many other symptoms in the chest area. This chart may help you pinpoint your problem as you confirm your symptoms. familydoctor.org

Pleural effusion in interstitial lung disease. Pleural effusions occur in patients with various forms of interstitial lung disease. The effusions require a clinical evaluation to exclude complications of therapy and coexisting conditions unrelated to the underlying ILD. PubMed. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2004 Sep;10(5):390-6. (Also see: Pulmonary Fibrosis)

Shortness of Breath This worrisome symptom has many acute and chronic causes. Follow this flowchart for more information about the diseases in which shortness of breath occurs. familydoctor.org

Treatments

Treatment for the type of pleural effusion which is caused by inflammation includes NSAIDS (such as Ibuprofen) or Prednisone. In more severe cases, fluid may be drained, which is called Thoracentesis. Mild cases may require no treatment at all.

Sometimes Pleural Effusion is due to heart failure, which may also be caused by Scleroderma causing inflammation of the heart muscle, or from scarring of it. Scleroderma heart involvement includes pericardial (heart lining) effusion, arrhythmias, or heart failure.

Sources

Corticosteroids. ISN.

NSAIDS. ISN.

Personal Stories: Pleural Effusion

Christene: Limited Scleroderma I was diagnosed when I was just nineteen and at that time it was one of the scariest moments of my life...

Neelam: Systemic Sclerosis (India) In December 1998 my right pointer finger started becoming blue and was hurting a lot...

Sheri: CREST Syndrome In the winter of '97, my fingers and toes started turning white and numb in response to the cold weather...

References

(1) "Pulmonary and Cardiac Involvement in Scleroderma" by Barbara White, M.D., Professor of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland in the SF Newsline, Vol. 1 - No. 3, Summer 1998