Osteophytes may be a rare cause of recurrent pleural effusions
We report a rare case of a 59 year-old female, who was admitted to the hospital because of a recurrent right-sided pleural effusion. The initial work-up was non-diagnostic. The diagnosis was finally confirmed following medical thoracoscopy, where an osteophyte of a rib was found to protrude sharply...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PAGEPress Publications
2015-11-01
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| Series: | Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.monaldi-archives.org/index.php/macd/article/view/97 |
| Summary: | We report a rare case of a 59 year-old female, who was admitted to the hospital because of a recurrent right-sided pleural effusion. The initial work-up was non-diagnostic. The diagnosis was finally confirmed following medical thoracoscopy, where an osteophyte of a rib was found to protrude sharply into the thoracic cavity. Chronic inflammatory changes of the pleura suggested mechanical irritation due to long lasting friction between this bony structure and the underlying lung. This is the first report where an osteophyte seems to be implicated in pleural pathology. A brief review of the available data from the literature is presented to further support our results. |
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| ISSN: | 1122-0643 2532-5264 |