Abstract

Hydrothorax is not a very common symptom in patients with hepatic cirrhosis, especially when there is no clinical evidence of concomitant ascites. Before accepting the hepatic origin of the hydrothorax it is necessary to exclude other cardiac, pulmonary or renal pathologies which could be partly or entirely responsible for this symptom. The existence of ascites may help to suggest the origin of hydrothorax. In patients with hydrothorax without ascites, establishing the diagnose is more complicated. We present two hepatic cirrhotic patients with right hydothorax in the absence and presence of ascites using radioisotopic techniques it was demonstrated that in both situations the pleural fluid originated in the abdomen and hence was transported into the pleural cavity. There was no fluid transfer in the opposite direction.