<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><sec id="j_raon-2018-0033_s_006_w2aab2b8c82b1b7b1aab1c16b1Aa"><h3>Background</h3><p>Pleural effusion remains largely unexplored in patients with pulmonary embolism and concurrent pulmonary infarction. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between the size of pulmonary infarction and pleural effusion as well as the time course of pleural effusion in patients with pulmonary infarction.</p></sec><sec id="j_raon-2018-0033_s_007_w2aab2b8c82b1b7b1aab1c16b2Aa"><h3>Patients and methods</h3><p>Data from 103 patients with pulmonary infarction was retrospectively analysed along with patient comorbidities, size of pulmonary infarction, presence and size of pleural effusion with the time between the onset of clinical symptoms of pulmonary infarction and CT study.</p></sec><sec id="j_raon-2018-0033_s_008_w2aab2b8c82b1b7b1aab1c16b3Aa"><h3>Results</h3><p>Assessment of possible correlations between the size of pulmonary infarction and age revealed a significant negative correlation. There was a highly significant difference (p = 0.005) in the mean size of pulmonary infarction in patients with effusion (34.5 cm<sup>3</sup>) compared to those without it (14.3 cm<sup>3</sup>), but the size of the effusion had no correlation with the size of pulmonary infarction. The size of the effusion peaked between 4<sup>th</sup>–5<sup>th</sup> day after the onset of clinical symptoms of pulmonary infarction. In the first 5 days after the onset of clinical symptoms of pulmonary infarction a significant correlation was found between the size of the effusion and time with approximation of 1.3 mm/12 h.</p></sec><sec id="j_raon-2018-0033_s_009_w2aab2b8c82b1b7b1aab1c16b4Aa"><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The data shows that patients with a pleural effusion are more likely to have a larger pulmonary infarction than those without it. If present, the effusion can be expected to increase in a relatively slow linear fashion in the first 5 days after the onset of clinical symptoms of pulmonary infarction.</p></sec></abstract>

BackgroundPleural effusion remains largely unexplored in patients with pulmonary embolism and concurrent pulmonary infarction. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between the size of pulmonary infarction and pleural effusion as well as the time course of pleural effusion in patients with pulmonary infarction.Patients and methodsData from 103 patients with pulmonary infarction was retrospectively analysed along with patient comorbidities, size of pulmonary infarction, presence and size of pleural effusion with the time between the onset of clinical symptoms of pulmonary infarction and CT study.ResultsAssessment of possible correlations between the size of pulmonary infarction and age revealed a significant negative correlation. There was a highly significant difference (p = 0.005) in the mean size of pulmonary infarction in patients with effusion (34.5 cm3) compared to those without it (14.3 cm3), but the size of the effusion had no correlation with the size of pulmonary infarction. The size of the effusion peaked between 4th–5th day after the onset of clinical symptoms of pulmonary infarction. In the first 5 days after the onset of clinical symptoms of pulmonary infarction a significant correlation was found between the size of the effusion and time with approximation of 1.3 mm/12 h.ConclusionsThe data shows that patients with a pleural effusion are more likely to have a larger pulmonary infarction than those without it. If present, the effusion can be expected to increase in a relatively slow linear fashion in the first 5 days after the onset of clinical symptoms of pulmonary infarction.

Dynamics of CT visible pleural effusion in patients with pulmonary infarction

Radiology and Oncology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Dynamics of CT visible pleural effusion in patients with pulmonary infarction"}

BackgroundPleural effusion remains largely unexplored in patients with pulmonary embolism and concurrent pulmonary infarction. The aim of the study was to...

Gender	N	(%)
Male	37	(38.9 %)
Female	58	(61.6 %)
Age
Mean (SD)	61.3	(± 19.5)
Pleural effusion	N	(%)
Present	57	(60 %)
Not present	38	(40 %)

			Correlation(^∗) with

Comorbidities	N	(%)	PI size	Ef. size	Presence of ef.
Reduced mobility	38	(40 %)	0.6	0.5	0.7
Previous PE	8	(8.4 %)	0.7	0.2	0.9
Oral contraceptives	7	(7.4 %)	0.5	0.4	0.2
Known malignancy	6	(6.3 %)	0.09	0.2	0.3
Proven GVT	6	(6.3 %)	0.9	0.7	0.1
Congestive heart failure	5	(5.3 %)	0.5	0.3	0.7
COPD	4	(4.2 %)	0.5	0.9	0.07

Number of comorbidities present in a patient	N	(%)

No comorbidities	37	(38.9 %)
1	51	(53.7 %)
2	5	(5.3 %)
3	2	(2.1 %)

Pleural effusion	Mean PI size
Not present	14.3 cm³ (± 17.8 cm³)
Present	34.5 cm³ (± 50.5 cm³)

Dynamics of CT visible pleural effusion in patients with pulmonary infarction

Article Category: Research Article

Pubblicato online: 11 set 2018

Pagine: 245 - 249

Ricevuto: 08 ago 2018

Accettato: 17 ago 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/raon-2018-0033

© 2018 Igor Kocijancic, Jernej Vidmar, Marko Kastelic, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Demographic data and comorbidities. (∗) Multiple linear regression was performed to test for correlation. P-values are shown

Mean pulmonary infarction size in patients with and without pleural effusion