title: [Pleural mesothelioma--case report].
abstract: Pleural mesothelioma is a rare neoplasm with the incidence of 1-2 per million people. The incidence is higher in male population (10-30/million), whereas the incidence in female population is 2 per million. It occurs predominantly at older age (65+ years). The most common clinical manifestation of pleural mesothelioma is pleural effusion with dyspnea, which makes it a diagnostic problem since many cardiac diseases can have the same presentation. We report a case of pleural mesothelioma in an 80-year-old woman that presented with dyspnea and pleural effusion, which was at first considered as a sign of heart failure. Clinical presentation also included metabolic disorders and deep vein thrombosis, and the patient's epidemiologic history was negative, so diagnostic procedures including pleurocentesis were directed towards detection of the possible malignant disease. Cytologic analysis followed by biopsy pointed to the diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma. Persistent pleural effusions that do not coincide with cardiac disease, especially if accompanied by metabolic disorders and paraneoplastic syndromes, require additional diagnostic workup to identify the etiology of pleural effusion.
authors.affiliation: Merkur University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia. premuzici@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Ivica Premuzić
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Mestrović
authors.forename: Maro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dragicević
authors.forename: Domagoj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mosler
authors.forename: Tomislav
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mestrović
authors.forename: Elvira Lazić
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Mosler
authors.forename: Damir
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kozmar
authors.forename: Stjepan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kranjcević
authors.forename: Darko
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pocanić
authors.forename: Gordana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cavrić
authors.forename: Kristina Narancić
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Skorić
authors.forename: Tomislav
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Letilović
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jerkić
authors.forename: Hrvojka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zeljko
authors.forename: Ika
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kardum-Skelin
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003581:Cytodiagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016066:Pleural Effusion, Malignant / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*