The physiologic basis for relief from dyspnea after therapeutic thoracentesis remains poorly understood. Improvement of the heart and lung function may contribute to the dyspnea relief. But there is no data support this phenomenon. Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) is a non-invasive viewing of the heart, which can quickly assess the heart function through real-time images. The investigators performed thoracentesis on patients with large-volume pleural effusions, and utilized TTE to access the change of heart and lung function before and after this medical procedure.
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changes of the TTE diameter after large-volume thoracentesis
Timeframe: baseline, immediately after drainage, 24 h after the thoracentesis