The following symptoms and complaints may indicate pleural effusion:
- Dyspnea (shortness of breath; most common complaint)-occurs only when the amount of fluid is relatively large
- Pleuritic pain – occur in association with the inflammatory response of the pleura (pleura); pain sensation is mediated by the parietal pleura (only this is sensitively innervated)
- Pain often occurs in a respiratory-dependent manner and is usually localized in the region of pathologic change; pain improves or disappears as soon as pleural effusion occurs
- Diffuse thoracic pressure pain; especially when the pathologic process directly involves the parietal pleura (eg. Pleural empyema (accumulation of pus (empyema) within the pleura, that is, between the two pleural sheets, the pleura visceralis and the pleura parietalis)), pleural carcinomatosis (involvement of the pleura with metastases (daughter tumors) of a malignant tumor)
Incidental findings
