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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffThe most important goal in relieving pleurisy or pleural effusion is treatment of the underlying condition that's causing your signs and symptoms. For example, if the cause of pleurisy is a bacterial infection of your lung (pneumonia), an antibiotic may control the infection. But, for pleurisy due to a viral infection, antibiotics won't be effective. Most viral infections run their course without treatment.
Over-the-counter or prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may help relieve some of the signs and symptoms of pleurisy. Prescription codeine may help control a cough as well as the pain. If you have a large buildup of fluid, you may need to stay in the hospital to have the fluid drained over a period of several days through a tube inserted into your chest.
The outcome of pleurisy treatment may depend on the seriousness of the underlying disease.
- What are pleurisy and other disorders of the pleura? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pleurisy/pleurisy_whatare.html. Accessed Dec. 15, 2008.
- Pleurisy fact sheet. American Lung Association. http://www.lungusa.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=2060321&content_id=%7B653829A9-6104-4561-BFC5-528F5419BEC2%7D¬oc=1. Accessed Dec. 15, 2008.
- Kass SM, et al. Pleurisy. American Family Physician. 2007;75:1357.
- Pleural effusion. The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec05/ch060/ch060d.html#sec05-ch060-ch060d-1244. Accessed Dec. 15, 2008.
- Celli BR. Diseases of the diaphragm, chest wall, pleura and the mediastinum. In: Goldman L, et al., eds. Goldman: Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:697.
- Chest pain, acute. American Academy of Family Physicians. http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/523.html. Accessed Dec. 15, 2008.
- Rosenow EC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 23, 2008.
