Is pleurisy calcification dangerous?

Written by Yuan Qing
Pulmonology
Updated on September 09, 2024
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Pleural calcification generally poses no major danger. It is typically a result of incomplete treatment of pleuritis or prolonged illness that delays the disease management, causing the disease to progress and the pleura to develop adhesions, leading to the deposition of calcium salts on the pleura and resulting in calcification. Depending on the extent of this pleural calcification, if severe, it may affect lung expansion and thereby reduce respiratory function. However, most cases do not exhibit significant symptoms. Moreover, it does not greatly impact the patient's life or quality of life. Therefore, when such calcification is observed, it is generally recommended that the patient be advised to attend regular follow-up checks. It does not necessarily cause any special symptoms, so there is no need for concern.

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Written by An Yong Peng
Pulmonology
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What are the symptoms of pleurisy?

Pleurisy often presents with symptoms of chest pain, which tends to worsen with deep breathing. Patients with pleurisy may also experience a feeling of tightness in the chest, possibly caused by a significant accumulation of fluid in the chest cavity due to the pleurisy. Sometimes, this tightness could also be due to severe chest pain that makes the patient reluctant to inhale deeply. Patients with pleurisy are likely to exhibit symptoms of fever. It is important to note that pleurisy caused by different factors may have distinct clinical features. For example, purulent pleurisy often presents with high fever, while tuberculous pleurisy may show symptoms of tuberculosis intoxication like low-grade fever in the afternoon and night sweats. However, some cases of tuberculous pleurisy might present with high fever, and others may not have noticeable fever at all. Additionally, viral pleurisy usually features prominently painful symptoms in the chest.

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Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
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What is the cause of hemoptysis in pleurisy?

Pleurisy is generally more commonly seen in young adults and children clinically, and is most commonly caused by an infection of the pleura by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Usually, patients with this type of pleurisy do not experience symptoms of coughing up blood. The typical symptoms caused by pleurisy primarily include chest pain, coughing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and in severe cases with a lot of pleural effusion, it can cause the patient to experience breathing difficulties and sometimes chills. Therefore, the clinical symptoms presented by different patients can vary. When a patient with pleurisy has a severe cough, it can lead to the rupture of the capillaries in the bronchial walls, which can cause the patient to have varying degrees of blood in the sputum, or even coughing up blood.

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Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
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What causes pleurisy in young people?

In clinical practice, populations with pleurisy are often common among young people and children. The factors inducing pleurisy in young people are mainly due to low immune function and the presence of pathogenic factors that stimulate an inflammatory response in the pleura. Such patients often experience infections, with tuberculosis infections being more common. This often leads to clinical symptoms such as chest pain, chest tightness, shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, and even difficulty breathing. Therefore, for individuals with low immune function, it is particularly important to pay attention to strengthening nutrition and to balance work and rest. When the body's functions are weakened, it is necessary to properly enhance nutrition and exercise to improve the body's immunity and reduce the likelihood of developing pleurisy.

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Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
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Does pleurisy cause chest pain?

Pleurisy can cause anterior chest pain. It is a very common clinical disease, mostly caused by bacterial invasion of the pleura resulting in inflammatory lesions, with Mycobacterium tuberculosis being the most common pathogen. Due to inflammatory exudation, some patients may also experience varying degrees of pleural effusion. The clinical symptoms presented by patients mainly include fever, cough, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and chest pain. In severe cases, different levels of breathing difficulties and other clinical symptoms may occur. Therefore, it is very common for patients with pleurisy to experience anterior chest pain.

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Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
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Is it normal to occasionally feel chest tightness with pleuritis?

Patients with pleurisy occasionally experience chest tightness, which is a very common clinical symptom. It is important to clarify that in clinical cases, pleurisy is mostly due to infection of the pleural cavity by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, causing clinical symptoms such as fever, chest tightness, shortness of breath, cough, and chest pain. Therefore, during an acute episode of pleurisy, some patients may have a severe pleural infection, and possibly a large amount of pleural effusion, which inevitably leads to symptoms like shortness of breath and chest tightness. For patients with pleurisy, if it is tuberculous, it is crucial to provide anti-tuberculosis medication as early as possible for symptomatic treatment. A lengthy course of treatment is usually required to effectively control the discomfort caused by pleurisy.