Abstract
We reviewed our experience with fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) in patients with pleural effusion of unknown origin. Seventy patients underwent FOB for the investigation of pleural effusion between 1978 and 1983. Those with a second reason for FOB, a mass on chest roentgenogram, or lobar atelectasis were excluded. Forty five patients remained: 28 patients with unexplained pleural effusion after pleural fluid analysis and pleural biopsy (UPE), and 17 patients with malignant pleural fluid cytology and/or pleural biopsy but no known primary tumor (MPE). In the UPE group, only one FOB demonstrated malignancy, despite a final diagnosis of tumor in seven. No other specific diagnoses were made by FOB in this group. In the MPE group, FOB demonstrated bronchogenic carcinoma in two; ultimately, five patients were found to have a bronchogenic neoplasm. Although pleural effusion of unknown origin is frequently caused by bronchogenic carcinoma, FOB in the absence of other indications for this procedure is rarely diagnostic and should not be routinely employed.
References
Apr 1, 1978·Annals of Internal Medicine·A LeffJ Costello
Jul 1, 1975·Chest·D C Zavala
Dec 1, 1978·Chest·D A DeckerP C Pairolero
Feb 1, 1979·Chest·B M RodgersJ L Talbert
Jun 9, 1979·British Medical Journal·J F StewartR M Fox
Oct 1, 1979·Annals of Internal Medicine·C G Moertel
Nov 8, 1976·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·D D StoreyD T Coles
May 1, 1975·Chest·W R SalyerY S Erozan
Oct 1, 1972·Annals of Internal Medicine·R W LightW C Ball
Oct 18, 1971·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·J ScerboD J Stone
Nov 1, 1981·Chest·T Williams, P Thomas
Citations
Jan 17, 2008·Respirology : Official Journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology·John E Heffner
Feb 1, 1992·Australian and New Zealand Journal of Medicine·J W UphamW T Kelly
Aug 1, 1988·Postgraduate Medical Journal·R W Heaton, C M Roberts
Jan 1, 1993·Postgraduate Medical Journal·N Berkman, M R Kramer
Nov 9, 2000·American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine·UNKNOWN American Thoracic Society
Jun 12, 2013·Surgical Laparoscopy, Endoscopy & Percutaneous Techniques·Guido SciaudoneFrancesco Selvaggi
May 3, 2003·Thorax·N A MaskellUNKNOWN Pleural Diseases Group, Standards of Care Committee, British Thoracic Society
Oct 1, 2009·Journal of Bronchology & Interventional Pulmonology·Sivaraman Kannan Kunji KannanAbdul Rahman Jamalul Azizi
Aug 10, 2013·Chest·Ritesh AgarwalDheeraj Gupta
Sep 1, 1988·Chest·W K Leslie, G T Kinasewitz
Jun 1, 1996·Chest·J S FerrerF B Morell
Jan 1, 1990·Chest·N A SmyrniosR S Irwin
Feb 1, 1990·Chest·L HerediaJ Garau
Dec 1, 1990·Chest·S H FeinsilverD H Faegenburg
Jun 1, 1994·Chest·R H PoeM C Kallay
Aug 1, 1995·Chest·J B Jurado GámezL Muñoz Cabrera
Jun 17, 2006·Chest·Biswajit ChakrabartiJohn E Earis
Nov 23, 2013·Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases·Jaehee LeeChang Ho Kim
Feb 5, 2008·Mayo Clinic Proceedings·John E Heffner, Jeffrey S Klein
Feb 5, 2015·Internal Medicine Journal·R KumarC S Karapetis
Apr 1, 1993·Cancer Treatment Reviews·D W Miles, R K Knight
Feb 5, 2005·São Paulo Medical Journal = Revista Paulista De Medicina·Luís Marcelo Inaco CirinoBernardo Nogueira Batista
May 1, 1992·Disease-a-month : DM·R W Light
Jul 1, 1998·Clinics in Chest Medicine·S A Sahn