Pleural pathologies in the Middle East are diverse and evolving partly due to steady immigration and increasing industrialization. Data about pleural diseases in the Middle East is relatively scarce. We are not aware of any review on this topic in current medical literature. This article aims at fulfilling this specific task. In this paper, we are reviewing selected English-written articles and publications in this field, from 1992 to 2011, using MEDLINE. Materials focusing on prevalence, etiologic factors, diagnostic techniques, and therapeutic interventions were included. In this review, we are categorizing pleural pathologies in five distinct sections: tuberculous effusions, parapneumonic ones, malignancies, transudative effusions, and a fifth category of miscellaneous conditions.
Key words: Middle East, Tuberculosis, Pleural infections, Pleural malignancies, Transudative effusions
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