Epstein-Barr virus in pleural effusions: protagonist or pretender?

Unilateral pleural effusions are a common diagnostic challenge for the respiratory physician. In the majority a diagnosis can be made after medical history, computerised tomography (CT) and pleural fluid analysis [1]. A proportion of patients will require a pleural biopsy but following this a minority will remain undiagnosed and are defined as idiopathic/inflammatory pleuritis (IP) [2]. These patients often require extended follow up to ensure effusion resolution and exclude malignancy. Footnotes This manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the European Respiratory Journal . It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJ online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article. Conflict of interest: Dr. Arnold has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Suri has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Hamilton has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Morley has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Medford has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Vipond has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Muir has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Maskell has nothing to disclose.