This page has been fact-checked by a Doctor of nursing practice specializing in Oncology and has experience working with mesothelioma patients. Sources of information are listed at the bottom of the article. We make every attempt to keep our information accurate and up-to-date. Please Contact Us with any questions or comments. Pleuritis and pleurisy are the same thing and describe inflammation of the pleural tissue around the lungs.
Pleuritis may be benign, but it can also be caused by pleural mesothelioma. Treatment involves finding and managing the underlying condition.
Pleurisy, or pleuritis, is an inflammation of the pleura that surrounds the outside of both lungs and lines the inside of the chest cavity.
A small amount of fluid between the tissue layers allows them to move smoothly against each other during inhalation and exhalation. When the tissue becomes inflamed, the two layers rub painfully against each other. Pleurisy can cause several uncomfortable symptoms, including chest pain that worsens during breathing. The pain typically intensifies when taking a deep breath or when coughing or sneezing. The pain may also be localized in the back or around the shoulders. Pleurisy causes shortness of breath as the individual experiencing the pain of breathing begins to avoid breathing deeply.
Pleuritis can also cause a cough or fever, although these symptoms are less common. Pleuritis may cause extra fluid to build up between the two pleural layers. This can relieve the pain caused by inflammation but also puts pressure on the lungs. This added pressure makes breathing even more difficult and can trigger a persistent cough.
Infections may develop in the extra fluid as well, causing a fever. If the underlying cause of pleuritis is something simple like an infection, treatment with antibiotics can reduce inflammation. If the condition is left untreated, pleuritis can turn into a serious illness described as fibrosing or sclerosing pleuritis. The pain may start and remain in one specific area of the chest wall, or it may spread to the shoulder or back.
To ease chest pain from pleurisy, a person with pleurisy often lies on the affected side as a way of limiting movement of the chest wall. In rare cases, the chest pain of pleurisy is a fairly constant, dull ache.
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Overview Pleurisy Open pop-up dialog box Close. Pleurisy Pleurisy occurs when the pleura — a membrane consisting of a layer of tissue that lines the chest cavity and a layer of tissue that surrounds the lungs — becomes inflamed, causing chest pain.
Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Pleural disorders. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Accessed Dec. Ferri FF. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor Elsevier;
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