Services

Pleural Disease

Diseases of the pleura (plural effusion and pneumothorax) are common presentations of a variety of conditions, and prompt diagnosis and treatment are very important. For every 100,000 people it has been estimated that there are 320 new presentations of pleural effusion and 12 spontaneaous pneumothoraces per year. At present management is via hospital admission and speciality referral/triage or via referral to respiratory clinic. In general a hospital stay is necessary, and this may be in excess of a week where drainage is required. See here for an explanation of these conditions.

Our priorities for developing this service are to create a "Pleural MDT" forum in which specialist from respiratory medicine, thoracic surgery and radiology can meet to discuss the management of cases of pleural disease. In addition, we aim to shorten the patient journey by disseminating guidelines for pleural disease, and auditing the adherence to these guidelines within the trust, and improving triage of these cases to respiratory wards. Finally, we hope to improve diagnostic and therapeutic success rates at the same time as reducing hospital stay by developing a Medical Thoracoscopy service in Sheffield.

The subspeciality lead for Pleural Disease is Dr Steve Renshaw. Please contact him directly for further information.