title: Clinical Importance of Echogenic Swirling Pleural Effusions.
abstract: Thoracic sonography is an important tool in diagnosis and assessment of pleural effusions and can provide valuable information about the characteristics of accumulated pleural fluid, in addition to improving the safety of thoracentesis. In addition to the 4 classic sonographic pleural effusion patterns (anechoic, complex nonseptate, complex septate, and homogeneously echogenic), an echogenic swirling pattern has been previously described, which was originally thought to be associated with malignant effusion. Two cases of pleural effusion with an echogenic swirling pattern are described below, illustrating that this sonographic finding can be seen in both exudative and transudative effusions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland USA. alison.b.lane.mil@mail.mil.
authors.forename: Alison B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Petteys
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland USA.
authors.forename: Meghan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ginn
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland USA.
authors.forename: Joel A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Nations
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*
keywords: echogenic swirling pattern; exudate; pleural effusion; point-of-care ultrasound; thoracic sonography; transudate