The goal of treatment of<unk> s is relief of shortness of breath. Occasionally, treatment of the underlying cancer can cause resolution of the effusion. This may be the case with types of cancer that respond well to chemotherapy, such as small cell carcinoma or lymphoma. Simple aspiration of pleural fluid can relieve shortness of breath rapidly but fluid and symptoms will usually recur within a couple of weeks. Drainage should generally be done under ultrasound guidance. For this reason, more permanent treatments are usually used to prevent fluid recurrence. Standard treatment involves inserting an indwelling plural catheter and pleurodesis. However, this treatment requires an inpatient stay of approximately 2–7 days, can be painful and has a significant failure rate. This has led to the development of tunneled pleural catheters (e.g., Pleurx Catheters), which allow outpatient treatment of effusions. If an infection due to the catheter occurs, antibiotics are given and the catheter is generally left in. A Cochrane review concluded tentatively in favour of thoracoscopy to remove the fluid and blow talc into the pleural cavity (talc poudrage) compared to other commonly used methods.
Malignant pleural effusion
Pleural empyema
Lung abscess
Atypical pneumonia
Lobar pneumonia
Viral pneumonia
Parapneumonic effusion
Pneumonia of unknown etiology 