[Contribution of iatrogenic pathology to all pleural diseases].

The contribution of iatrogenic pathology to all pleural diseases was evaluated in a series of 562 cases by studying pleural effusions or pneumothoraxes induced by medical interventions. Iatrogenic pathology accounted for 5.5% of all pleural diseases (effusion 2.5%, pneumothorax 3%). The medical interventions most frequently responsible for pleural effusion were surgical operations performed in the thorax, but also on abdominal organs located close to the diaphragm. Pneumothorax was almost always induced by diagnostic manoeuvres: essentially needle biopsy and, less frequently, transbronchial lung biopsy under fibroscopy. It must be pointed out that iatrogenic pleural lesions are small and usually asymptomatic.