The Significance of Pleural Effusions as Indicating the Presence of Abdominal Disease

¹ professor of Clinical Medicine, University of Buffalo.
² Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery, University of Buffalo.

1) In all cases of pleurisy with effusion the etiological factor of an abdominal lesion must be considered.

2) Small amounts of fluid may be present in either pleural cavity, and may be demonstrable only by physical signs and exploratory aspiration.

3) In a group of abdominal and thoracic taps, using a size 16 to 18 gauge 1 to 2 inch needle, straight or short bevel, we have had no untoward reactions, either local or general.

4) Five to ten cc. of fluid are adequate to demonstrate the presence of pathological cells.

5) The importance of the presence of fluid in the thoracic cavity with a nonmalignant mass in the abdomen must be emphasized.

6) The x-ray may show only a haziness at either base which is difficult to distinguish between a small amount of fluid, atelectasis, or pulmonary congestion, and aspiration may be the only method of proving the presence of effusion.

7) It is exceedingly rare for an inflammatory lesion in the chest to pass downwards through the diaphragm and involve the abdominal cavity.

8) We have presented a case of a Meigs' syndrome.

9) The increasing number of returned veterans with amebiasis involving the liver makes it necessary for us to remember it as an etiological factor of pleural effusion.

10) The gastroenterologist must carefully examine the thoracic cavity in many diseases involving the abdominal organs.