الفهرس 
Anatomy of the pleuraOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Pleural effusion is an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space, as a result of excessive transudation or exudation from the pleural surface, it is a sign for many diseases so correct diagnosis remains a challenge to clinicians. Pleural effusion is a relatively common clinical condition that requires a differential diagnosis it may represent that primary manifestation of certain disease; however, is it commonly observed as a secondary manifestation or complication of other diseases. Pleural effusions that are not diagnosed after initial thoracocentesis can be evaluated by pleural needle biopsy, bronchoscopy, thoracoscopy or even open lung biopsy. In spite of using the previous methods to reach an etiological diagnosis, only 80% of the cases can be established, with serious problem in the diagnosis of the remaining 20%. Pleural levels of a number of biomarkers have been proposed as aids in the diagnosis of causes of pleural effusion. These biomarkers include interferon gamma, adenosine deaminase, interlukine-12p40,
interlukine-6, interlukine-18 and soluble interlukine -2 receptor.
IL-6 is an immune system mediator that takes part in a large variety
of biologic actions. It functions as a differentiation factor for B cells and
acts as an activation factor of T cells. Many types of cells, such as
(monocytes, macrophages, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, keratinocytes, T
cells, and several tumors) can synthesize IL-6. IL-6 is a potent inducer of the acute-phase protein response. The aim of this work was to study the diagnostic value of interleukin -6 in the pleural fluid and serum of the patients with different
causes of pleural effusion.
This study was conducted on 40 patients (21 males and 19 females) with pleural effusions of different etiologies, at Benha Universty Hospital and during- the period from April 2012 till April 2013. The patients were classified according to their final diagnosis into
four groups: Group I: included 10 cases (5 males and 5 females) with Tuberculous
pleural effusions. Group II: included 10 cases (3 males and 7 females) with malignant
pleural effusions. Two cases secondary to malignant pleural mesothelioma, , eight cases secondary to metastatic lesions. Group III: included 5 cases (4 males and 1 female) with Parapneumonic
effusions. Group IV: included 15 cases (9 males and 6 females) with transudative pleural effusions. Five cases secondary to heart failure, two cases secondary to renal failure and eight cases secondary to liver cell failure.