Radiological And Clinical Pattern Of Pleural Effusion In Ilorin.

Abstract

Background: Pleural effusion (PE) is the commonest manifestation of pleural disease and may herald pathologies from other parts of the body. Etiology varies with age and geographical location. Chest radiography is an essential component of early assessment though there are suggestions to apply chest ultrasonography also early in patient evaluation. This study aims to determine the radiological and clinical pattern of pleural effusions based on clinical and radiological diagnosis of pleural effusion and to correlate this with etiology.
Method: A retrospective analysis of 276 plain Chest X-rays (CXR) of patients diagnosed clinically to have PE over a period of 6% years in the University of Teaching Hospital was conducted.
Result: A bimodal age distribution involving the first and second decades was demonstrated. Etiological factors were identified in 95.6% of cases. Chronic inflammation and pyogenic effusion accounted for 47.6%. Amongst children, adolescents and young adults, the percentage rose to 62.0%. Heart failure was responsible for PE in 18.1% of all the cases and 63.3% of patients -50years. More than half of PE occurred in the right hemithorax (53.1%). Pyogenic and malignant effusion showed predilection for the right side (75.6% and 58.3% respectively). Heart failure accounted for 57.1% of all patients with bilateral effusions.
Conclusion: We found that chronic inflammation and pyogenic effusion accounted for a greater proportion of etiological factors. Conventional CXR is still valuable as a first line investigative modality.