Authors : E. Mohamed Ahmed , Hassan Abu Aisha and Imadeldin E. Aradaib
Abstract: A 50-years-old Sudanese woman was admitted to Elshaab Medical Teaching Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan. She had a history of repeated pleural effusions and a family history of yellow nail syndrome. The patient presented with productive cough, dyspnea and chest pain. On clinical examination, her nails were yellowish-green in color and dystrophic in appearance, thickened and excessively curved. X-ray and CT scan confirmed the presence of fluid in the right side of the chest. On administration of intercostals tube a purulent exudate was collected in the drain from the right side of the chest. The purulent exudate (empyema) was attributed to invasion of the pleural effusion by secondary bacterial organism. Microbiological examination revealed isolation and identification of Pseudomonas stutzeri from the infected pleural fluid. As severe dyspnea and chest pain continued, thoracotomy was decided and the patient was referred to thoracic surgery unit. The removal of pus and decortication of the pleura resulted in improved respiratory condition of the patient. The present study describes the first report of a clinical case of recurrent pleural effusions in association with yellow nail syndrome in a Sudanese patient.
E. Mohamed Ahmed , Hassan Abu Aisha and Imadeldin E. Aradaib , 2006. A Clinical Case of Recurrent Pleural Effusions, Culminating in Empyema-thoraces in a Sudanese Woman with Yellow Nail Syndrome . International Journal of Tropical Medicine, 1: 137-139.