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Ideally, the treatment of pleurisy is aimed at eliminating the underlying cause of the disease. If the pleural fluid is infected, treatment involves antibiotics and draining the fluid. If the infection is tuberculosis or from a fungus, treatment involves long-term use of antibiotics or antifungal medicines.
Rheumatoid pleuritis, a form of pleural effusion, is an uncommon complication of rheumatoid arthritis, occurring in 2-3% of patients (Walker and Wright, 1967; Naylor, 1990) Rheumatoid pleura most often appears as an erythematous exanthema, discoloration, or gray discoloration and may grow into a tender, inflamed mass.
Pleuritis or pleurisy is an inflammatory condition of pleurae. Due to the somatic innervation of the parietal pleura, pleural irritations, especially if from acute causes, often produce a sharp chest pain that is worse by breathing, known as pleuritic pain. [citation needed]
Treatment is usually via reassurance, as the pain generally resolves without any specific treatment. Occasionally it goes away after a couple of breaths. [1] The pain is agitated by expansion and contraction of the chest. Taking a deep breath and allowing the rib cage to fully expand can relieve the pain, however it will feel unpleasant initially.
Notable extrapulmonary infection sites include the pleura (in tuberculous pleurisy), the central nervous system (in tuberculous meningitis), the lymphatic system (in scrofula of the neck), the genitourinary system (in urogenital tuberculosis), and the bones and joints (in Pott disease of the spine), among others.
Pleural tumors may be benign (i.e. solitary fibrous tumor) or malignant in nature. Pleural mesothelioma is a type of malignant cancer associated with asbestos exposure. Under most other circumstances, pleural cancers are secondary malignancies associated with lung cancer due to its nearby location or as metastasis such as with breast cancer.