Fluid in the chest; Fluid on the lung; Pleural fluid

• Chest pain, usually a sharp pain that is worse with cough or deep breaths
• Cough
• Fever
• Hiccups
• Rapid breathing
• Shortness of breath

Sometimes there are no symptoms.

During a physical examination, the doctor will listen to the sound of your breathing with a stethoscope and may tap on your chest to listen for dullness.

The following tests may help to confirm a diagnosis:

• Chest CT scan
• Chest x-ray
• Pleural fluid analysis (examining the fluid under a microscope to look for bacteria, amount of protein, and presence of cancer cells)
• Thoracentesis (a sample of fluid is removed with a needle inserted between the ribs)
• Thoracic CT
• Ultrasound of the chest

Images

Pleural cavity

Lungs

Respiratory system

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Pleural effusion Overview

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Pleural effusion Treatment

Review Date: 09/15/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Denis Hadjiliadis, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)