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Abstract

Objective:To determine the frequency of various diseases presenting with pleural effusion.Study design:Case seriesPlace and duration of study:The study was conducted at Department of Medicine, Bahawal Victoria HospitalBahawalpur over a period of one year.Patients and methods:One hundred patients of either gender, more than 12 years old, with clinically and radiologically confirmed pleural effusion underwent diagnostic thoracentesis. Pleural fluid was examined grossly and for sugar, protein, LDH, total and differential white cell count and malignant cells. Pleural fluid culture and pleural biopsy was done in case of exudative effusion. The data was collected on pre-designed Performa and analyzed using SPSS (10.0). Chi-Square test applied as test of significance.Results:Tuberculosis was the most common cause (28%) of exudative pleural effusion followed by parapneumonic effusion (25%) and malignant effusion (09%). Congestive cardiac failure (13%) and liver cirrhosis (8%) were the commonest cause of transudative pleural effusion. Renal failure (05%), nephrotic syndrome (02%), pancreatitis (02%), systemic lupus erythmatosus (02%) were the other significant causes of pleural effusion.Conclusion:Tuberculosis, parapnemonic effusion and malignancies are the common cause ofexudative pleural effusion while congestive cardiac failure, liver cirrhosis and nephrotic syndrome are common causes of transudative effusion.