Symptoms of Pleural Disorders - Understand the Underlying Causes

The Underlying Causes of Pleural Disorders

What is  pleural effusion?

A pleural is a usual amount of fluid or water around the lungs. This usually happens when the fluid builds up in the space between the chest cavity and the lungs. The thin membranes, known as pleura, which mainly covers the inside of the chest cavity and the outside of the lungs. There is always a small amount of fluid within the lining of the lungs, which acts as a lubrication and makes it easier for the lungs to move while they expand during breathing. However, if there is too much fluid build-up because of certain medical conditions, it can cause symptoms like chest pain, and your healthcare provider will call it pleural effusion.

Normally, in the chest, there is always one teaspoon of fluid available in the pleural space as it allows the lungs to move easily and smoothly while breathing. In some cases, there will be too much fluid around your lungs; however, this means the body is producing too much of the fluid but not properly absorbing enough of the fluid that it makes. There are various reasons for pleural effusion, but the most common is congestive heart failure.

What are the symptoms of pleural effusion?

In some cases, people with pleural effusion do not have any particular symptoms. At the same time, other symptoms may be caused by some other underlying disease. People mostly find out about pleural effusion only when they undergo an X-ray exam.

Some of the pleural effusion symptoms include:

• Coughing.
• Chest pain.
• Fever.
• Shortness of breath.
• Orthopnea(Not able to breath properly)

Many people find about pleural effusion only while a physical examination or an X-ray they are taking for some other medical condition. There healthcare provider will diagnose it after looking at the imagining test and may notice more expansion on one side of the chest than other, even may hear dull sound when they tap on that side of the chest during physical examination.

Consult to your healthcare provider immanently if you see these symptoms and the symptoms are going away with time, as the symptoms may indicate pleural effusion disorder.  

What causes pleural effusion disorder?

There are many possible reasons for pleural effusion. Some of the common causes include:

Infection: Pleural effusion can be caused do some illness that can lead to infection and some of the illness are tuberculosis or pneumonia.

Leaking from other organs: This condition usually occur when a person has congestive heart failur before, this happen when your heart is not able to pump blood properly to your body. However, it can also comes from kidney disease or liver, When a fluid  starts to build up in a person’s body and even leaks into the pleural space near lungs.

Cancer: Mainly lung cancer is the issue of fluid build-up, but other types of cancers that have spread to the pleura or lungs can also be the cause of pleural effusion.

Pulmonary embolism: When there is a blockage in one of the arteries in the lungs, and it leads to leakage, which ultimately results in pleural effusion and causes symptoms like chest pain.

Autoimmune conditions: These conditions are caused by some kind of disease, such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.

Pneumothorax: It is a condition in which an accumulation of air is filled within the pleural cavity between the inside rib cage and outside of the lungs.

Pneumonia: It is a condition, where the fluid can gather in the pleural space, and as a result it cause large numbers of disorders. It can also cause infections, injuries, tumors, even kidney, heart and liver failure. It can be the reason for blood clot in the lungs.

Pleurisy: It is a condition in which inflammation of pleura happens and the inflammation in caused due to respiratory system infection, by a bacteria or virus.

Heart failure: Heart failure or congestive heart failure is one of the common causes of pleural effusions; it is a condition caused by damage in the heart’s ability to pump blood as it is supposed to be.  

Chylothorax: Chyle present in the pleural effusion is mainly known as a chylothorax. It is typically diagnosed when a milky appearance of fluid occurs due to high-fat content.

How to diagnose pleural disorder?

Your healthcare provider will question you about your medical history and current medication details. They will ask about your symptoms and when you start noticing those symptoms. After the questions, they will do a physical exam, in which they will listen to your lungs and will ask you to take some tests.

What test will be done to diagnose pleural disorder?

Your healthcare provider will use these tests to evaluate and confirm if the person is suffering from pleural effusion disorder. These tests include:

Chest X-ray: When you go for chest X-ray the result will show pleural effusion black and the space which is covered with air will look black. If a person has pleural effusion then there will be more X-rays films while the person lie on the side and these X-ray results will show the fluid flow freely in the pleural space.

Computer tomography (CT Scan): A Computer tomography(CT Scan) is capable of taking more X-rays quickly, and then computer constructs images  of the whole chest inside and out. CT scan usually shows more details image and quick result than X-ray machine do.

Ultrasound of chest: An ultrasound is a video screen that shown a live image of the fluid present around your lungs. Your healthcare provider may use the results of ultrasound to exactly locate the fluid and get a sample for better diagnose.

If your healthcare provider isn’t able to diagnose pleural effusion through the tests, they may need a thoracoscopy. It is a technique in which your doctor will take a little bit of fluid from the pleura to test, or sometimes they may treat the pleural effusion during the thoracoscopy.

Conclusion: 

A pleural effusion is a normal amount of water or fluid around the lungs which helps your lungs to expand easily while breathing, but if the fluid which is present between the chest cavity and lungs starts to build up and starts to causes health issue, than you may need to consult your doctor immediately. As it can be caused due to many medical conditions and can be treated easily by your doctor.