Pleural effusion (exudate)
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:
- Roberts ME, Rahman NM, Maskell NA, et al. British Thoracic Society guideline for pleural disease. Thorax. 2023 Jul;78(suppl 3):s1-42.
- Light RW. Pleural effusions. Med Clin North Am. 2011 Sep 25;95(6):1055-70.
Related pages
Create an account to add page annotations
Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page