Synonyms
Reactive eosinophilic pleuritis; REP
Definition
Eosinophilic pleuritis is an abundant eosinophilic infiltration of the pleural tissue and fluid. It is often an incidental histologic finding most commonly seen in patients with pneumothorax due to any cause. It has been identified in a large amount of biopsies from patients with spontaneous pneumothorax, and it is thought to be a nonspecific reaction to pleural injury.
In pneumothorax, this reaction is caused by the introduction of air which leads to the disruption of mesothelial cells with subsequent fibrinous exudation. The fibrin creates a meshwork that entraps the eosinophils and histiocytes. In later stages, this is accompanied by the granulation tissue which appears in the underlying pleura. The presence of mesothelium lining the surface and slits within the lesion suggests that mesothelial regeneration eventually develops. This is hypothesized to be either through transformation of free-floating macrophages or underlying...
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References and Further Reading
Askin, F. B., McCann, B. G., & Kuhn, C. (1977). Reactive eosinophilic pleuritis: A lesion to be distinguished from pulmonary eosinophilic granuloma. Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine, 101, 187–191.
Cagle, P. T., Allen, T. C., Barrios, R., et al. (2004). Color atlas and text of pulmonary pathology (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
McDonnell, T. J., Crouch, E. C., Gonzales, J. G. (1989). Reactive eosinophilic pleuritis: A sequela of pneumothorax in pulmonary eosinophilic granuloma, American Journal of Clinical Pathology, 91(1), 107–11.
Travis, W. D., Colby, T. V., Koss, M. N., et al. (2002). Non-neoplastic disorders of lower respiratory tract (1st ed., Vol. 2). Washington, DC: American Registry of Pathology.
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Xia, M. (2018). Eosinophilic Pleuritis. In: Allen, T.C., Suster, S. (eds) Pathology of the Pleura and Mediastinum. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66796-6_357
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66796-6_357
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