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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Imaging Features of Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease
Published on: June 16, 2020
Cirrhotic pleural effusion in the absence of ascites
Abstract:
A 61-year-old female presented with a right transudative pleural effusion in the absence of ascites and other stigmata of chronic liver disease. A diagnosis of cirrhosis with a secondary hydrothorax was eventually established; however, ascites could never be demonstrated clinically or radiographically until just before her death, when hypertonic saline was administered for symptomatic hyponatremia. Based on the autopsy finding of a 1-mm hole in the right diaphragm and her clinical course, a mechanism for the production of a cirrhotic pleural effusion in the absence of asictes is proposed.
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