This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Pleural effusion (exudate)

Authoring team

The most common causes of exudates include: (1)

  • bacterial pneumonia
    • around 57% of patients with pneumonia will develop pleural fluid
  • malignancy
    • the incidence in the US is estimated to be approximately 200,000 new cases each year (2)

The causes of an exudative pleural effusion may be classified as:

  • infective
  • inflammatory
  • malignant
  • drug-induced
  • miscellaneous

Reference:

  1. Roberts ME, Rahman NM, Maskell NA, et al. British Thoracic Society guideline for pleural disease. Thorax. 2023 Jul;78(suppl 3):s1-42.
  2. Light RW. Pleural effusions. Med Clin North Am. 2011 Sep 25;95(6):1055-70.

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2025 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.