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Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Local Anesthetic Thoracoscopy for Undiagnosed Pleural Effusion
Published on: November 10, 2023
An Interesting Case of a Bilious Pleural Effusion
Christoffel van Niekerk1, Kelly Fan1, Anna Sarcon1
1Scripps Green Hospital, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Malignant pleural effusions are common complications in patients with primary or metastatic cancer to the lungs. In this article, we describe a unique case of a patient with history of diffuse pulmonary metastases from gallbladder adenocarcinoma who acutely developed a bilious pleural effusion following endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. We believe the bilious pleural effusion (cholethorax or bilothorax) developed as a complication of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography rather than tumor burden causing a fistula from the biliary tree to the right pleural space. We discuss possible mechanisms of formation of the bilious pleural effusion in our patient and present a literature review of previously reported cases of bilious pleural effusions.
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