Pleuritic chest pain is sharp, stabbing pain in the chest that gets worse when breathing in, coughing or sneezing. It comes from irritation of the pleura, the lining around the lungs. It can occur with asbestos-related pleural effusions and mesothelioma, but it has many other causes, from infections to blood clots.
Origin
The term comes from pleurisy, inflammation of the pleura, a condition described by physicians since ancient Greece. Doctors use pleuritic to describe the pattern of the pain, whatever its cause.
Significance in Asbestos Context
The outer layer of the pleura has pain nerves, so inflammation or tumor there hurts, often in a spot a person can point to. In asbestos-related disease, a benign asbestos pleural effusion can cause pleuritic pain and fever. In mesothelioma, pain is common, but it is more often a dull, constant ache in the chest wall or shoulder that worsens as the tumor grows into the ribs and nerves; pleuritic pain may occur, especially early when fluid is present. Pleural plaques by themselves usually do not cause pain. Because pleuritic pain also comes from pneumonia, a collapsed lung, a blood clot in the lung, viral pleurisy and heart conditions, sudden severe chest pain, or pain with breathlessness, needs emergency care. For a claim, the date pain began, how it was described to doctors and how it was treated help build the medical timeline, and the pain itself is part of noneconomic damages.
Example Sentence
For two weeks he had a sharp pain under his right ribs that caught every time he took a deep breath, and a chest X-ray then showed a pleural effusion.
Related Terms
Pleural Effusion, Benign Asbestos Pleural Effusion, Pleural Mesothelioma, Pleural Plaques, Dyspnea, Palliative Care, Noneconomic Damages
Notes
- Seek emergency care for sudden, severe chest pain or chest pain with shortness of breath.
- Describe your pain to doctors in your own words, including what makes it worse; the description goes into the record.
- Keep a short pain diary if pain comes and goes.
In the research library
23 studies in our medical research library mention Pleuritic Chest Pain in the title or abstract. Among the most cited:
- Chronic pleuritic pain in four patients with asbestos induced pleural fibrosisA. Miller, 1990 · British Journal of Industrial Medicine · cited 18 times
- "Not your grandfather's pleural disease": rapid progression, ventilatory impairment, and chronic pleuritic pain from Libby vermiculite/amphiboleA. Miller, 2014 · American Journal of Industrial Medicine · cited 5 times
- Pulmonary changes after exposure to vermiculite contaminated with fibrous tremoliteJ.E. Lockey, S.M. Brooks, A.M. Jarabek, et al, 1984 · The American Review of Respiratory Disease · cited 60 times
- Primary Pericardial Mesothelioma: A Rare but Serious ConsiderationS. Seal, H. Simon, 2021 · Curēus · cited 9 times
- Primary malignant pericardial mesothelioma presenting as acute pericarditisW.S. Choi, M.S. Im, J.H. Kang, et al, 2012 · Journal of Cardiovascular Ultrasound · cited 8 times
The journals that publish most on it: Curēus (5), American Journal of Industrial Medicine (2), Respirology Case Reports (2).
Category: Clinical Signs & Symptoms · All Lexicon terms A–Z
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