Conversation: The conversation between human and AI assistant.
[|Human|] hello, I have just spent 4 days in hospital for sharp pain when inhaling. the test showed a small plural effusion, they say from RA. My sed rate was over 100 now down to 55. help me made sense of this and what other test should I have. I had c scan x ray  mri
[|AI|]  Thanks for your question on Chat Doctor. I can understand your concern. Most common cause for small pleural effusion is pneumonia. Other causes are tuberculosis, RA associated pleurisy etc. So to identify the cause, we should definitely aspirate fluid and send it for investigations. So other recommended tests are pleural fluid ADA, pleural fluid protein and sugar, pleural fluid routine and pleural fluid culture. So consult pulmonologist and discuss all these. Hope I have solved your query. I will be happy to help you further. Wish you good health. Thanks.