What does pleural thickening indicate?
Pleural thickening is a disease that causes thickening of the lung lining, or pleura. Symptoms of pleural thickening may include chest pain and difficulty breathing. Pleural thickening can be a sign of significant asbestos exposure and may indicate pleural mesothelioma or lung disease.
What causes benign pleural thickening?
Most of the diffuse forms of visceral or parietal pleural fibrosis result from organization of recurrent effusions. The most common causes are collagen vascular diseases, asbestos exposure, and drugs, especially methysergide, methotrexate, bromocriptine, practolol, and mitomycin.
Is pleural thickening permanent?
Although the damage caused by pleural thickening is permanent, there are still ways to treat it.
How is pleural thickening treated?
In most cases, no treatment is needed since the pleural thickening does not usually cause very severe symptoms. Stopping smoking, keeping active and pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) are usually the most helpful options. If your breathlessness is severe, surgery can very occasionally be considered.
Does pleural thickening get worse?
Pleural thickening can be a progressive disease, meaning the symptoms often become more severe over time. In early stages, pleural thickening is often asymptomatic.
Can pleural thickening be reversed?
Pleural thickening does not have a cure. The effects of pleural thickening cannot be reversed. However, the condition may be asymptomatic or have mild symptoms that do not require treatment. If the disease progresses and symptoms worsen, doctors may recommend various treatment options.
Can Covid cause pleural thickening?
The most frequent pleural change in COVID-19 patients is not pleural effusion (5% of cases), but pleural thickening (32%) [42] (Fig. 6).
Is pleural thickening contagious?
Pleurisy is not spread from person to person; however, it may spread within the individual to occupy more space. This occurs when the underlying infectious causes further spread into the pleural space or when noninfectious causes result in fluid increases in the pleural space.
Is pleural thickening life threatening?
On its own, pleural thickening is not documented to be fatal. The condition can be benign, which does not require treatment. The condition can also be a symptom of a larger diagnosis, such as mesothelioma or tuberculosis.
Can pneumonia cause pleural thickening?
Pleural thickening may be a manifestation of several pulmonary diseases, including mycobacterial infection, lung cancer, and idiopathic interstitial pneumonia.