title: Diagnostic thoracoscopy in pleuro-pulmonary infiltrates without pleural effusion.
abstract: In seven patients with pleuro-pulmonary infiltrates without pleural effusion, an artificial pneumothorax was induced, followed by diagnostic thoracoscopy, as the first and only invasive investigation; in all cases the diagnosis was confirmed by this simple procedure. The method has a low mortality correlated to other alternative diagnostic methods.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000473:pathology; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000473:pathology; D002812:Chondroma / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008067:Lipoma / Q000473:pathology; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010954:Plasmacytoma / Q000473:pathology; D010994:Pleura / Q000473:pathology; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D013906:Thoracoscopy / Q000379:methods*