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Pleural fluid, better known as lung water, is fluid that collects in the parenchyma or in the pleural cavity. It appears as a result of serious diseases and poses a threat to he alth and life. Water in the lungs can be caused by a variety of he alth conditions. What are the causes, symptoms, and treatments for a pleural fluid build-up?

Water in the lungscan be caused by a large number of medical problems and diseases, including those not directly related to the lungs. Most often, however, the cause is inflammation or cancer.

Water in the lungs - causes

In addition, pleural fluid may occur as a result of autoimmune diseases such as:

  • lupus erythematosus,
  • drug-induced lupus,
  • rheumatic diseases (including rheumatoid arthritis),
  • Wegener's grains,
  • Sarcoidosis.

Occurs also with:

  • pulmonary embolism,
  • infections,
  • ascites,
  • hypothyroidism,
  • heart attack,
  • pulmonary infarction,
  • circulatory failure,
  • chest injuries, e.g. caused by an accident or as a result of spontaneous pneumothorax.

Water in the lungs also accumulates during viral and bacterial diseases. This group includes diseases such as tuberculosis and bacterial and viral pneumonia. It is also encountered as a result of parasitic infections.

Tumors that threaten to pool fluid in the pleura are:

  • lung cancer,
  • pleural mesothelioma,
  • ovarian cancer,
  • breast cancer,
  • cancer of the lymphatic system,
  • colorectal cancer,
  • pancreatic cancer
  • Does kidney cancer.

It also happens that the fluid is formed as a result of radiation therapy. In addition, there are instances of water in the lungs caused by sub-diaphragmatic and liver abscesses.

Water in the lungs - symptoms

Symptoms of water in the lungs are often ambiguous and depend on the factor that caused it and possible complications. Also, the amount of fluid accumulating in the pleura has a huge impact on symptoms.

Usually, the first sign of a problem is shortness of breath and tightness in the chest. The discharge makes breathing difficult, which causes pain, and the mobility of the chest, as the fluid builds up, becomes more and more difficult.more limited. Pains can also appear in the abdominal area and even radiate to the shoulders.

The lungs themselves cannot cause pain, but the connection between the pleura and the intercostal nerves is. Another symptom of water in the lungs may be a cough caused by pressure on the tissues of the organ. Pain ailments most often occur in inflammation and neoplastic diseases. The result of untreated pleural fluid build-up can be fatal.

Water in the lungs - diagnosis

The identification of water in the lungs can be made in several ways. During a medical examination, the medic taps the chest. Thanks to this method, it is able to detect the presence of fluid below 300-400 ml.

Chest X-ray may reveal even smaller amounts, already over 200 ml. The examination carried out in the lateral position brings a more accurate test result. The ultrasound, in turn, detects the presence of water in the lungs from 100 ml, and the chest CT - from 50 ml.

Examination of the pleural fluid:

  • biochemical tests (protein levels, glucose, amylase, DH pH, cholesterol, triglycerides),
  • hematocrit,
  • cell composition (neutrophilia: bacterial infections, lymphocytosis: tuberculosis and neoplasms, eosinophilia: in parasitic infections), give a better insight into the patient's condition.

Water in the lungs - treatment

Treatment of water in the lungs depends on the cause that led to the exudate. After discovering that fluid has accumulated in the pleura, the doctor first determines its nature. It can be inflammatory, cancerous, or exudative. Thanks to this, it is easier to narrow down the search area to make the correct diagnosis and the main cause of water accumulation in the lungs, to be able to eliminate it by implementing adequate treatment: antibiotic therapy, oncological treatment or other.

However, it is not always possible - if the underlying disease cannot be cured, only symptomatic treatment of water in the lungs can be used, e.g. through thoracocentesis, i.e. a puncture of the pleural cavity. It is a kind of drainage that drains the residual fluid, reducing shortness of breath and pain when the lung relaxes.

The puncture may not be sufficient, however, and then surgical drainage is used. Then, thoracotomy is used, i.e. opening the chest. There may also be a situation in which decontamination is necessary, i.e. excision of a part of the lung. However, this procedure, although it may be associated with complications (damage to nerves and other organs, edema, air leakage, lymphatic leakage, air embolism), does not affect respiratory function.

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Category:

Respiratory system