[Massive pleural effusion in liver cirrhosis without ascites]

We present two patients with masive pleural effusion, asociated to cirrhosis. There was no clinical evidence of ascites, and in the first case it didn't even show up in the CT scanning. Al other posible causes were discarded and the therapeutic response was analysed. We evaluated the pathophysiologic mechanisms of the syndrome and we suggest the pneumoperitoneum as a diagnostic procedure which is easy to apply and carries low costs.