A Reminder of an Important Clinical Lesson: Hypoxaemia in a Pleural Effusion

Abstract

A 75-year-old male presented with a large pleural effusion and significant hypoxaemia. The hypoxaemia persisted after large-volume pleural drainage, and this prompted further investigations. A CT scan yielded a pleural malignancy and a large pulmonary embolus, which was responsible for the hypoxaemia. We revisit the mechanisms behind dyspnoea and hypoxaemia in pleural effusions, and underly the need to investigate further should hypoxaemia persist after adequate drainage.

Keywords

• pleural effusion
• hypoxaemia