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Health Dictionary

Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.

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Pleural effusion risk factors

Introduction

Overview

Overview

Common risk factors in the development of pleural effusion include pre-existing lung damage or disease,[1] chronic smokers,[1] neoplasia (e.g. lung cancer patients),[2] alcohol abuse,[2] use of certain medications (e.g. dasatinib in the treatment of patients with chronic myelogenous leukaemia[3] and immunosuppressive medicine),[2] occupational exposure to asbestos,[1] and surgery-related risk factors.[4]

Risk Factors

Risk Factors

Common risk factors in the development of pleural effusion are as follows:

  • Increased serum VEGF, TNF-α and C3 levels are identified as important risk factors for presence of pleural effusions in POEMS syndrome[5]
  • As a complication of some surgical procedures (e.g. Nuss procedure for correction of pectus excavatum)[6]

Surgery-related risk factors include the following:[4]

References

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 West HJ (2015). “JAMA Oncology Patient Page. Malignant Pleural Effusions”. JAMA Oncol. 1 (2): 260. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2015.0671. PMID 26181036.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Zablockis R, Petruskeviciene R, Nargela RV (2010). “[Causes and risk factors of pleural empyema and complicated parapneumonic pleural effusion]”. Medicina (Kaunas). 46 (2): 113–9. PMID 20440084.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Latagliata R, Breccia M, Fava C, Stagno F, Tiribelli M, Luciano L; et al. (2013). “Incidence, risk factors and management of pleural effusions during dasatinib treatment in unselected elderly patients with chronic myelogenous leukaemia”. Hematol Oncol. 31 (2): 103–9. doi:10.1002/hon.2020. PMID 22815278.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gupta A, Daggett C, Behera S, Ferraro M, Wells W, Starnes V (2004). “Risk factors for persistent pleural effusions after the extracardiac Fontan procedure”. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 127 (6): 1664–9. doi:10.1016/j.jtcvs.2003.09.011. PMID 15173721.
  5. ↑ Cui RT, Yu SY, Huang XS, Zhang JT, Tian CL, Dou LP; et al. (2015). “Incidence and risk factors of pleural effusions in patients with POEMS syndrome”. Hematol Oncol. 33 (2): 80–4. doi:10.1002/hon.2135. PMID 24519469.
  6. ↑ Cheng YL, Lin CT, Wang HB, Chang H (2014). “Pleural effusion complicating after Nuss procedure for pectus excavatum”. Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 20 (1): 6–11. PMID 23411850.

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Prince Tano Djan, BSc, MBChB [2]; Nate Michalak, B.A.