About this Research Topic
In clinical practice, we have to face pleural effusion status during pleuritis. Over 80-90 % of pleural effusion would be resolved with proper management. Since the Light’s Criteria to distinguish the characteristic of pleural effusion has been developed, there were still some cases with undiagnosed pleural effusion. Sometimes there is a lack of evidence of tuberculosis (TB) pleurisy combined with mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection. Recent shreds of evidence suggest that whole genome sequencing (WGS) of MTB can be used as an alternative molecular method for TB diagnosis. The Xpert MTB/RIF assay is also a rapid, automated PCR test optimized for respiratory specimens that can detect both MTB and rifampicin resistance. Current diagnostic tools include thoracocentesis under a view of chest sonography and surgical intervention in operation rooms. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) had played an important role in the diagnosis of undiagnosed pleural effusion as the last strategy. However, in some circumstances, patients with undiagnosed pleural effusion could not receive further diagnostic operations or anesthetic procedures due to health status and clinical condition. Endoscopic thoracoscopy is an option for those patients, and it not only had a safe procedure without major complications but also provided enough tissue for accurate diagnosis.
This Research Topic aims to gather articles with novel insights into the diagnosis and treatments of undiagnosed pleural effusion, deepen recognition of this disease and improve patients’ prognosis. We welcome all submissions related to solving undiagnosed pleural effusion. The potential submissions are supposed to consider, but not limited to:
● The novel management of undiagnosed pleural effusion
● The character of pleuroscopy in undiagnosed pleural effusion
● The present area that could be improved in terms of diagnosis and therapies for undiagnosed pleural, such as NGS
● The future of pleuroscopy among undiagnosed pleural effusion patients (Is there any treatment component?)
● The novel diagnosis methods for a patient with high suspicion with TB pleuritis when facing undiagnosed pleural effusion
This Research Topic aims to gather articles with novel insights into the diagnosis and treatments of undiagnosed pleural effusion, deepen recognition of this disease and improve patients’ prognosis. We welcome all submissions related to solving undiagnosed pleural effusion. The potential submissions are supposed to consider, but not limited to:
● The novel management of undiagnosed pleural effusion
● The character of pleuroscopy in undiagnosed pleural effusion
● The present area that could be improved in terms of diagnosis and therapies for undiagnosed pleural, such as NGS
● The future of pleuroscopy among undiagnosed pleural effusion patients (Is there any treatment component?)
● The novel diagnosis methods for a patient with high suspicion with TB pleuritis when facing undiagnosed pleural effusion
Keywords: Pleural effusion, Diagnosis Tool, Pleuroscopy
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
