Several reports of loculated pleural
effusion due to congestive heart failure or
the "vanishing tumor" of the lung have appeared
in the literature. From a review of
the literature, Higgins and co-workers1 considered
41 cases as authentic, and 5 others
have since been added.2,3 One instance of
pericardial effusion which disappeared along
with the interlobar fluid following diuresis
(Kiser,4 cited by Higgins1) and another, of
acute and chronic pericarditis with leukemic
infiltration of the serosa of the heart,5 have
been noted. Two cases of interlobar effusion
associated with pericarditis are reported.
Report of Cases
Case 1.—A 25-year-old woman was admitted on
Feb. 7, 1957, with a history of exertional dyspnea
for one year, palpitation for six months, and irregular
fever and precordial discomfort for six
weeks. Because of a band-like density in the right
lung in a roentgenogram she had had antituberculous
therapy for the past one month. As acid-fast bacilli