Pleural effusion, asbestos exposure causing

Pleural effusion Cells (fluid) can ooze or weep from the lung tissue into the space between the lungs and the chest cavity (pleural space) causing a pleural effusion. The effusion fluid may be clear or bloody. Pleural effusions may be an early sign of asbestos exposure or mesothelioma and should be evaluated. 

Asbestos exposure can cause the development of pleural effusions, pleural fibrosis, and malignant mesothelioma. In a rabbit model of asbestos induced pleural effusions, it was noted that there was a large influx of neutrophils followed by a mononuclear cell movement into the pleural space. A low-molecular-weight chemotactic factor was described (52) which was defined to be interleukin-8 (53) and found to be essential for the recruitment of neutrophils to the pleural space in asbestos-induced pleural effusion formation. In in vitro studies, pleural mesothelial cells when stimulated with asbestos particles released interleukin-8 and... 

Exposure to asbestos occasionally causes benign pericardial effusion, thickening, and calcification (Figs. 8.22 and 8.23) (Davies et al. 1991). These manifestations are analogous to the effects of asbestos on the pleura, and pericardial disease is usually associated with pleural disease. The pericardial thickening may result in constrictive pericarditis with functional cardiac consequences. Both anatomical and functional aspects of pericardial constriction may be demonstrated by magnetic resonance imaging (Al )arad et al. 1993). 

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