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Review
. 2017 Jul 17:6:1135.
doi: 10.12688/f1000research.11646.1. eCollection 2017.

Diagnostic approach to pleural diseases: new tricks for an old trade

Fabien Maldonado  1 , Robert J Lentz  1 , Richard W Light  1
Affiliations
Review

Diagnostic approach to pleural diseases: new tricks for an old trade

Fabien Maldonado et al. F1000Res. .

Abstract

The burden of pleural diseases has substantially increased in the past decade because of a rise in the incidence of pleural space infections and pleural malignancies in a patient population that is older and more immunocompromised and has more comorbidities. This complexity increasingly requires minimally invasive diagnostic options and tailored management. Implications for patients are such that the limitations of current diagnostic methods need to be addressed by multidisciplinary teams of investigators from the fields of imaging, biology, and engineering. Ignored for a long time as an epiphenomenon at the crossroad of many unrelated medical problems, pleural diseases are finally getting the attention they deserve and have spurred a vibrant and exciting field of research.

Keywords: clinical prediction model; pleural disease; pleural fluid analysis; pleuroscopy; thoracic ultrasound.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: Robert J. Lentz and Richard W. Light declare that they have no competing interests.No competing interests were disclosed.No competing interests were disclosed.

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