Eosinophilic pleural effusion associated with recovery from viral hepatitis A

Pleural effusion represents a rare complication of acute viral hepatitis; only one case has been reported in association with type A viral hepatitis. We report here the second case, in a 24-year-old female nurse who developed a large symptomatic right pleural effusion 9 weeks after the onset of fulminant type A viral hepatitis. Ascites and edema did not develop. The effusion, exudative with an eosinophilic cellular predominance, manifested 2 weeks following recovery from viral hepatitis and resolved spontaneously. Other causes were excluded by investigation. This is the first report of a pleural effusion complicating viral hepatitis during the recovery period; moreover, it is the first case associated with pleural fluid eosinophilia.