[Pleural effusion and pulmonary hypertension in a patient with Parkinson disease treated with cabergoline].

Cabergoline is a synthetic dopamine agonist used to treat Parkinson disease. The drug occasionally induces pleuropulmonary adverse effects, which manifest as pleural thickening or effusion, interstitial pneumonitis, pulmonary infiltrates, or fibrosis. We report a rare case of pleural effusion and severe pulmonary hypertension in a 79-year-old man with Parkinson disease who had been treated with cabergoline for 1 year.

[Influence of the method used to obtain pleural fluid on the determination of the Acid-base balance].

Objective: To analyze the methods used in our hospital for obtaining pleural fluid to determine the acid-base balance and to evaluate the clinical repercussions of each method.

Methods: Initially we studied the methods used by physicians in our hospital to collect pleural fluid for determination of the acid-base balance. In a second phase, we performed a prospective, descriptive, comparative study with the participation of 71 patients with pleural effusions in order to compare the acid-base balance according to the technique used to obtain the fluid.

[Utility of amylase levels in malignant pleural effusions].

Background And Objective: To analyze the utility of the measurement of pleural amylase levels (AL) and pleural fluid/serum amylase ratio (AR) in malignant pleural effusions.

Patients And Method: Prospective and comparative study of AL and its AR in relation to the patient and pleural fluid characteristics in 295 malignant effusions and 673 nonmalignant.

Results: There were 103 patients with AL greater than 100 U/l (11%) and 268 with AR greater than 1 (28%): 53 (18%) and 109 (37%) in malignant effusions respectively.

[Influence of thoracentesis and pleural biopsy on biochemical parameters and cytology of pleural fluid].

Objective: To assess the influence of thoracentesis and pleural biopsy on biochemical parameters and cytology of pleural fluid from patients with lymphocytic exudate.

Patients And Methods: A prospective, descriptive study was performed in 72 patients with pleural effusion who had lymphocytic exudate and in whom biopsy was indicated. Biochemical variables and cytology of pleural fluid were analyzed at baseline, 48 hours later (immediately prior to biopsy), and 48 hours after biopsy.

[Bilateral hemothorax secondary to combined antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel and acetylsalicylic acid].

Clopidogrel is a platelet aggregation inhibitor that increases the risk of bleeding complications when combined with acetylsalicylic acid. We report a rare case of a 79-year-old male treated with clopidogrel and acetylsalicylic acid after coronary angioplasty and stenting to treat unstable angina. Two months after initiation of therapy, the patient presented with symptomatic bilateral pleural effusion.