Rib enlargement in patients with chronic pleural disease.

Abstract

Rib enlargement is occasionally displayed radiographically in cases of chronic pleural disease and is confirmed by comparison of the two sides. In our selected patients (group I) with rib enlargement, tuberculosis was the most common cause of pleural disease, but nontubercular empyema, thoracic surgery, blunt trauma, and metastatic tumor were also found. Conversely, we found no rib enlargement in association with pleural disease of short duration. We have shown that rib enlargement can indicate the chronicity of pleural disease.