Pleural effusion secondary to endometriosis: A systematic review

Porcel JM, José M Porcel, Paula Sancho-Marquina, Paula Monteagudo, Monteagudo P, Bielsa S, Silvia Bielsa
The American journal of the medical sciences · 2023 · vol. 366(4) , pp. 296–304 · doi:10.1016/j.amjms.2023.08.003 · PMID:37553023 · W4385611838
review OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 4 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-09 ⓘ

This systematic review analyzes existing literature to describe the clinical characteristics and management of pleural effusions caused by endometriosis.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis-associated pleural effusion is a rare occurrence with poorly defined clinical characteristics. METHODS: A systematic review was performed to examine all articles on endometriosis-associated pleural effusion extracted from 4 databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus) from inception until November 2022. RESULTS: A total of 142 articles (isolated cases and small retrospective series) involving 176 patients (median age 33 years) with endometriosis-associated pleural effusion were included. The most frequent symptoms were dyspnea (67%), chest pain (55%) and abdominal pain (40%). Pleural effusion was predominantly unilateral (89%), right-sided (88.5%) and massive (56%). Ascites was evident in 42% of the cases. Pleural fluid had a bloody appearance in 99% of cases and always met the exudate criteria. Pleural fluid cytology identified only 9% of the patients, with pleural biopsy being the most common diagnostic procedure (74%). Most patients were treated with hormones (76%), thoracic surgery (60%) and abdominal surgery (27%). Effusion recurrence was observed in 26% of cases after a median follow-up of 1 year. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of right-sided hemorrhagic pleural effusion in a young woman warrants an assessment for the possibility of endometriosis. Despite conventional treatment, effusion recurs in approximately a quarter of patients.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

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Cited by (4)

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