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Loculated pleural effusion

Case contributed by Prashant Mudgal
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Patient presented with fever and chest pain since last 7 days.

Patient Data

Age: 30 years
Gender: Male
x-ray

Obliteration of left costophrenic angle with a wide pleural based dome shaped opacity projecting into the lung noted tracking along the CP angle and lateral chest wall suggestive of loculated pleural effusion, however the possibility of empyema can not be ruled out completely.

Case Discussion

Sometimes in the setting of pleuritis, loculation of fluid may occur within the fissures or between the pleural layers (visceral and parietal). Loculation most commonly occurs with exudative fluid, blood and pus.

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