Exam 25: Pleural Diseases

Dyspnea occurs in the majority of patients with a pneumothorax.

Chest pain occurs in only a small percentage of patients with a pneumothorax.

What is the most common cause of a chylothorax?

Pleural effusion is a complication of ascites in less than 10% of the cases.

The administration of oxygen to a patient with a pneumothorax will speed the rate at which resolution occurs once the leak has stopped.

Which of the following is NOT a typical complication of thoracentesis?

What method of chest tube removal has been associated with the lowest level of pneumothorax recurrence?

How much pleural fluid does a normal healthy adult have in each hemithorax?

Pleural fluid with a total protein concentration of less than 50% of the serum total protein level is one of the indications of transudative pleural effusion.

Describe a secondary spontaneous pneumothorax.

What is a common clinical finding even with small pleural effusions?

What is a common complication of pleurodynia (pleural pain)?

Exudative pleural effusions have more protein and inflammatory cells present compared to transudative effusions.

At what anatomic position should an 18-gauge IV catheter be placed to relieve a tension pneumothorax?

What underlying lung disease is most often present in a patient with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax?

A patient with nephritic syndrome is noted to have a large right-sided pleural effusion and a small to medium-sized left-sided pleural effusion. What would explain this finding?

What is the most common cause of pleural effusion that occurs due to lymphatic obstruction within the mediastinum?

Nephrotic syndrome causes pleural effusion by increasing oncotic pressure in the blood as a result of a protein leak into the urine.

Chest tubes should be directed toward the base of the lung to evacuate a pneumothorax.

What anatomical position is most likely to show the presence of a small pleural effusion in the upright chest radiograph?