causes of pleural effusion
1 The most common causes of pleural effusion are congestive heart failure, pneumonia, malignancies and pulmonary embolism. 2  Signs and symptoms of pleural effusion include: 3  Shortness of breath. 4  Chest pain. 5  Associate symptoms of pleural effusion due to an underlying disease include: 6  Night sweats. 7  Coughing up blood. 8  Fever.