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Updated: May 4, 2026

Local Anesthetic Thoracoscopy for Undiagnosed Pleural Effusion
Published on: November 10, 2023
Osteophytes may be a rare cause of recurrent pleural effusions
K Psathakis1, V Skouras2, F Chatzivasiloglou2
1Department of Pneumonology, Army General Hospital of Athens, Greece. kpsazakis@gmail.com
Abstract:
We report a rare case of a 59 year-old female, who was admitted to the hospital because of a recurrent right-sided pleural effusion. The initial work-up was non-diagnostic. The diagnosis was finally confirmed following medical thoracoscopy, where an osteophyte of a rib was found to protrude sharply into the thoracic cavity. Chronic inflammatory changes of the pleura suggested mechanical irritation due to long lasting friction between this bony structure and the underlying lung. This is the first report where an osteophyte seems to be implicated in pleural pathology. A brief review of the available data from the literature is presented to further support our results.
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