OVERVIEW
Overview of Pulmonary Effusion
Pulmonary effusion, also known as pleural effusion, is an increase in fluid in the pleural cavity, or pleural effusion, due to a variety of factors that cause the formation of fluid in the pleural cavity to be too rapid or the absorption of fluid to be too slow.
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Department
Respiratory Medicine
Alias
Pleural effusion
Clinical Symptoms
Chest pain, chest tightness, breathlessness. Symptoms associated with different causes of pleural effusion depending on the accompanying etiology.
Harmful effects
Pressure on the lungs leads to atelectasis and obstruction of the airways with sputum that cannot be easily discharged.
Complications
Lung atelectasis, obstructive pneumonia.
Tests
Blood routine, Mycobacterium tuberculosis antibody test, tumor markers, chest X-ray, chest CT, pleural effusion ultrasound, pleural fluid test.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis can be made by combining the symptoms of chest pain, chest tightness, shortness of breath, turbid lung percussion, decreased breath sounds, chest X-ray or chest CT, pleural effusion ultrasound.
Treatment principle
Closed drainage of the thoracic cavity, and causative treatment for the cause of pleural effusion.
Curability
The curative effect varies depending on the cause of pleural effusion. Tuberculous, inflammatory, cardiogenic pleural effusion has better curative effect, while tumor pleural effusion has poor curative effect.
Dietary advice
Tuberculous pleural effusion and neoplastic pleural effusion are wasting diseases and should be given a nutritious diet to ensure adequate nutritional intake. Fluid intake should be reduced if caused by cardiac disease.
Important reminders
Chest pain associated with respiratory motility, chest tightness and shortness of breath should be noted as a possible cause of pleural effusion, and prompt medical attention should be given.
Etiology
Epidemiology
Pulmonary effusion can be caused by a variety of diseases and is very common clinically, with no clear epidemiologic statistics.
Causes
1. Hypertensive pulmonary effusion Pulmonary effusion caused by high pressure of fluid into the lungs due to cardiac valvular disease, pulmonary venous lesions, craniocerebral lesions, and so on.
2. Hyperperpermeable pulmonary edema Pulmonary effusion caused by infection, inhalation of toxic fumes or aerosols, inhalation of fluids, plateau pulmonary edema, compound pulmonary edema, radiographic pulmonary edema, pulmonary contusion, and drug overdose that increase the permeability of the barrier within the lungs to fluids and proteins.
Questions you may be concerned about
Can diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cause fluid in the lungs?
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma can cause fluid in the lungs, which is mainly related to the impact of the tumor on the surrounding tissues, the involvement of the pleura, causing increased permeability of the pleural capillary wall, and the obstruction of lymphatic reflux, and needs to be combined with a comprehensive judgment of clinical examination.
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma belongs to a type of lymphoma, which occurs in the mediastinum and parapulmonary hilum, infringes on the surrounding tissues, increases the permeability of the pleural capillary wall, and obstructs the lymphatic reflux, which leads to the fluid leakage and accumulation in the pleural cavity, resulting in fluid retention in the lungs.
The corresponding conditions need timely medical observation and standardized treatment under the guidance of clinicians, chemotherapy can be chosen for lymphoma, and pleural effusion can be chosen to do thoracic drainage when necessary.
Will patients with pulmonary effusion cause vomiting?
Patients with fluid in the lungs will not cause vomiting, which should be considered as digestive and neurological diseases.
Pleural effusion usually does not cause vomiting, the fluid mainly collects in the lungs, which may cause coughing, coughing up phlegm, shortness of breath and other symptoms, a large amount of pleural effusion can cause dyspnea, lower blood pressure and other cardiopulmonary dysfunctions, but for the digestive system has relatively little effect, and usually does not cause vomiting.
Vomiting is mainly considered for other causes, the most common is digestive diseases, such as acute gastritis, duodenal ulcer, pyloric obstruction, etc.; secondly, it may be related to neurological diseases, such as encephalitis, cerebral hemorrhage, intracranial edema, etc., which can also produce vomiting.
Pleural effusion generally does not cause vomiting, it is recommended to consult a doctor in a timely manner, complete the relevant examinations in order to clarify the cause of the disease, and follow the doctor’s instructions for treatment.
Does diabetes cause fluid in the lungs?
Hydrocele is the common name for pleural effusion. Diabetes does not usually lead directly to pleural effusion, but long-term poor glycemic control may lead to a variety of complications, such as serious infections and cardiac insufficiency, which may lead to pleural effusion.
1. Infection: diabetes is prone to various infections, which are more likely to occur in people with poor glycemic control. If diabetic patients are combined with pneumonia and pleurisy, pleural effusion may occur.
2. Cardiac insufficiency: the risk of cardiovascular events in diabetes mellitus is significantly increased, and myocardial infarction in patients can seriously affect cardiac function, resulting in pleural effusion.
It should be noted that there are many causes of pleural effusion, diabetic patients with tumors, tuberculosis, autoimmune diseases may also lead to pleural effusion. Therefore, it is recommended that diabetic patients with pleural effusion consult a regular hospital to clarify the cause of pleural effusion and standardize the treatment.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
Typical symptoms
Chest pain, chest tightness, dyspnea. With or without fever.
Other symptoms
Tuberculous pleural effusion with fever, chills, malaise, night sweats, and nausea. Parapneumonic pleural effusion is accompanied by cough and sputum, and cardiogenic pleural effusion is accompanied by sitting breathing and lower limb edema.
Diagnostic basis
Combined with symptoms of chest pain, chest tightness, shortness of breath, lung percussion turbidity, hypopnea, chest X-ray or chest CT, pleural effusion ultrasound can be diagnosed.
Treatment
Treatment guidelines
Closed chest drainage, reduce the pressure of pleural fluid on the lungs, clarify the nature of pleural fluid. Anti-causal treatment: anti-tuberculosis treatment for tuberculous pleural effusion; anti-tumor treatment for tumor pleural effusion; anti-infection treatment for parapneumonic effusion; diuresis and reduction of cardiac load treatment for cardiogenic pleural effusion.
Drug treatment
Tuberculous pleural effusions are treated with isoniazid, rifampicin, diazinamide, and ethambutol. Pneumonic parapneumonic effusions are given at least three weeks of anti-infective therapy. Cardiogenic pleural effusion is treated with furosemide diuretic and cardiac load reduction.
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy is given for tumor pleural effusion.
Surgery
Repeated episodes of pleural effusion may be treated with pleural cavity surgery.
Prognosis
The prognosis is better for tuberculous, inflammatory, and cardiogenic pleural effusions and worse for neoplastic pleural effusions.
Questions you may be concerned about
Formula of Ten Jujubes Soup for Pulmonary Hydrocele
Ten Jujubes Soup is a famous Chinese medicine formula, not a special formula for treating pulmonary hydrocele, and its formula is three medicines: Morinda citrifolia, Glycyrrhiza glabra and Coriandrum sativum, and ten jujubes are boiled in water to flush the above medicines.
In Ten Jujubes Tang, Morinda Citrifolia can clear and drain water from the internal organs, Gan Sui can expel water-dampness, and Coriandrum sativum can eliminate phlegm and water-dampness (pathological products of impaired metabolism of water and fluid) in the chest and ribs. The three herbs are harsh and poisonous, easily injuring the vital energy, and require jujube to moderate the medicinal properties.
Ten Jujubes Tang has the efficacy of attacking and expelling water-drinking, and can be used clinically to treat hanging drinks, coughing and spitting phlegm that causes pain and discomfort in the chest, dryness and vomiting, shortness of breath, dizziness, headache, and chest pain that prevents gasping for breath. It can also be used to treat swelling of the whole body, especially the lower half of the body, abdominal distension, and unfavorable bowel movement.
Because of the drug’s strong and violent nature. So it can not be used for a long time, pregnant women can not take it, and can not be used together with licorice.
Pulmonary effusion is associated with palpitations (rapid heartbeat, often accompanied by panic) and dyspnea in Chinese medicine, so it is important to consult a doctor promptly after the appearance of this disease to avoid delaying the condition.
Taking ten jujube soup to treat the disease needs the guidance of a doctor, do not take on your own.
How to treat bacterial pulmonary effusion
Bacterial pulmonary effusion refers to the pleural effusion of bacterial infection, and the treatment methods include anti-infection treatment, drainage and so on.
1. Anti-infective treatment: first extract the pleural fluid for bacterial culture, improve the drug sensitivity test, use sensitive antibiotics for treatment. Commonly used antibiotics are cefuroxime, levofloxacin and other drugs.
2. Drainage: If the fluid accumulation is large or causes symptoms such as chest tightness, shortness of breath, dyspnea, etc., it is necessary to remove the pleural effusion in time, and the fluid can be drained out by puncture, and urokinase can be injected when draining to prevent the chest cavity from sticking together. Purulent pleural effusion can be treated by repeated flushing of the chest cavity.
Bacterial pulmonary effusion need to timely medical treatment, improve the relevant examination, and actively cooperate with the treatment, do not arbitrarily use their own medicine, so as not to delay the condition.
Chemotherapy pulmonary effusion how to do
If you have fluid in the lungs after chemotherapy, you can send the fluid to the hospital for examination to clarify the nature of the fluid, and then treat the symptoms.
After chemotherapy pulmonary effusion, consider pleural effusion, at this time, the feasibility of closed drainage of the thoracic cavity, the extraction of fluid sent to the laboratory to determine the nature of the effusion.
If the pleural effusion is malignant pleural fluid, indicating the emergence of pleural metastasis, can be thoracic instillation of chemotherapeutic drugs, such as cisplatin, etc.; if inflammatory pleural fluid, give anti-inflammatory treatment, such as ceftriaxone sodium. Drainage of pleural fluid can be standardized to relieve patients’ symptoms.
In addition, pleural effusion drainage is prone to hypoproteinemia, so it is necessary to regularly review liver function and timely supplementation of albumin. Usually pay attention to light diet, try to choose fish, lean meat, eggs, milk, fresh vegetables and fruits and other nutritious food.
Nursing care
Daily care
1. Enhance physical fitness and improve disease-resistant ability. Actively participate in all kinds of suitable physical exercise to strengthen the physical condition and improve the disease-resistant ability. 2. Keep the place of residence dry, avoid invasion, do not want to eat raw and cold food, do not overeat, and maintain the normal function of spleen and stomach. 3.