Pleurisy

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Respiratory system overview

Overview Symptoms Treatment Prevention

Pleurisy

The main symptom of pleurisy is pain in the chest. Sometimesthe pain may be felt in the shoulder.

Deep breathing, coughing, and chest movement makes the pain worse.

Pleurisy causes fluid to collect inside the lung area. This makes breathing difficult and may cause the following symptoms:

• Coughing
• Shortness of breath
• Rapid breathing (tachypnea)
• Cyanosis

The doctor will use a stethoscope to listen to the lungs for abnormal sounds.

• Friction rub is a rough scratchy sound
• Rales may be occurwith pneumonia
• Rhonchi may occur with pneumonia or bronchitis
• Decreased breath sounds may indicate fluid around the lung

• CBC (may help determine if the infection is caused by a bacteria or virus)
• X-ray of the chest
• Ultrasound of the chest
• Thoracentesis (a collection of fluid from thechest cavity)

Marx J. Rosen?s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 5th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2002:1005.

Murray J, Nadel J. Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2000: 497-498.

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