Pleural effusion coinciding with acute exacerbations in a patient with chronic hepatitis B

Pleural Effusion Related to Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Reactivation: A Rare Association

“…The association of pleural effusion with HBV infection is rarely reported, with only, to our knowledge, 14 cases previously described; of these, only two occurred during HBV reactivation [8][9][10] . Unlike our case, they occurred in the setting of severe hepatitis; even so, both patients had a good outcome without targeted therapy, as did our patient [8,9] .…”

“…The association of pleural effusion with HBV infection is rarely reported, with only, to our knowledge, 14 cases previously described; of these, only two occurred during HBV reactivation [8][9][10] . Unlike our case, they occurred in the setting of severe hepatitis; even so, both patients had a good outcome without targeted therapy, as did our patient [8,9] . We propose that, in the setting of pleural effusion related to HBV infection, an accurate diagnostic aetiological work-up should be conducted with HBV viral load in pleural liquid also determined.…”

“…However, although its real incidence is still unknown, this association is rarely reported nowadays. Pathogenesis is unclear, but there is probably an underlying immunological mechanism [8,9] . We present a case of pleural effusion accompanying reactivation of HBV chronic infection in a non-cirrhotic patient, which resolved along with liver recovery.…”