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History Of Pneumonia. Had Chest Pain And Fever. X-ray Shows Pleural Effusion
hello. i would like to get some idea about my pleural effusion . i am of age 18. i ve had pneumonia at first which i thot to be simple fever virus. after i took an antibiotic course,the fever flew was gone. i had this chest pain while the fever,and before as well. But now there seems to be less pain. and my x-ray report shows mild pleural effusion.
Mon, 18 Mar 2013
Hi
Pleural effusion after pneumonia can happened quite often and occasionally cause the fluid to become loculated like fluid in a sac. So long as the fluid is sterile (not infected) it will dry up by itself but may leave behind a scar which could persist forever. If the fluid is infected or turned into pus, you need prolonged course of antibiotics and the fluid need to be taken off with appropriate procedures either like a drain with a tube or a small surgery ( called decortication or video assisted thoracoscopy)
Important step now is to determine if you have fluid in your pleura or just a shadow. You either need an ultrasound or a CT scan with contrast to check this. If fluid is confirmed, it needs to be aspirated with a small needle to check the status of the fluid/pus.
Either way, you need further evaluation by a pulmonologist as soon as possible.
Pleural effusion after pneumonia can happened quite often and occasionally cause the fluid to become loculated like fluid in a sac. So long as the fluid is sterile (not infected) it will dry up by itself but may leave behind a scar which could persist forever. If the fluid is infected or turned into pus, you need prolonged course of antibiotics and the fluid need to be taken off with appropriate procedures either like a drain with a tube or a small surgery ( called decortication or video assisted thoracoscopy)
Important step now is to determine if you have fluid in your pleura or just a shadow. You either need an ultrasound or a CT scan with contrast to check this. If fluid is confirmed, it needs to be aspirated with a small needle to check the status of the fluid/pus.
Either way, you need further evaluation by a pulmonologist as soon as possible.
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