Give A Diagnosis Of The Following Symptoms: Shortnes Of Breath, Evidence Of Excess Fluid In Chest, Family Member Died Previously From Asbestosis While Working In A Heat Treating Steel Mill
Diagnosis: pleural effusion. A pleural effusion can be a sign of mesothelioma. Although mesothelioma is relatively rare only 4 out of every 10,000 people will develop mesothilioma and many are discovered by routine chest x-ray. True 80% of pleural effusions are benign in nature and transudative fluid in nature but if the fluid is bloody then there is a 47% chance of finding a malignancy. People with exposure to asbestos may not show signs or symptoms for 30-50 years after initial exposure. People might have never been directly exposed to asbestos but they are at risk even if they lived with someone who was exposed. This is a scary truth about mesothelioma and illustrates the value of asking about asbestos exposure and follow up screening for those who have simply lived with someone with a history of asbestos exposure. The median survival for persons found to have a pleural mesothelioma is 8-18 months.
