Role of pleural biopsy in etiological diagnosis of pleural effusion.

Background: Pleural effusion remains the most common manifestation of pleural pathology. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between tubercular and malignant pleural effusion in spite of routine biochemical and cytological examination of pleural fluid.

Aims: This study aims to evaluate the role of pleural biopsy to determine the etiology of pleural effusion and to correlate it with the biochemical and cytological parameters of pleural fluid.