Pleural effusion guidelines from ICS and NCCP Section 1: Basic principles, laboratory tests and pleural procedures.

Pleural effusion is a common problem in our country, and most of these patients need invasive tests as they can't be evaluated by blood tests alone. The simplest of them is diagnostic pleural aspiration, and diagnostic techniques such as medical thoracoscopy are being performed more frequently than ever before. However, most physicians in India treat pleural effusion empirically, leading to delays in diagnosis, misdiagnosis and complications from wrong treatments.

Oxygen desaturation index as alternative parameter in screening patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea.

Objectives: Assess reliability of oxygen desaturation index (ODI) as an alternative parameter to apnea hypopnea index (AHI) in screening patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Material And Methods: Retrospectively two-year data on demography, anthropometric features, polysomnography (PSG) parameters [AHI, ODI, minimum oxygen saturation (SpO2), mean SpO2], and Epworth sleepiness score (ESS) were collected and analyzed.

Results: Study showed significant correlation of ESS with AHI, ODI, apnea-hypopnea percentage of sleep period time (AH%SPT), mean SpO2 and minimum SpO2 with highest correlation being with AHI.

Young patient with generalized lymphangiomatosis: Differentiating the differential.

We present the case of a 19-year-old man who was extensively evaluated in multiple centres for long-standing cough, dyspnea, and hemoptysis without a definitive diagnosis. His chest radiograph at presentation showed mediastinal widening, bilateral pleural effusions, and Kerley B lines. Computed tomography of the thorax showed a confluent, fluid-density mediastinal lesion enveloping the mediastinal viscera without any mass effect.