Incidence and Prognostic Role of Pleural Effusion in Patients with Pulmonary Embolism: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Our meta-analysis found that PE patients had a high incidence of pleural effusion, which was usually unilateral and small. Pleural effusion generally increases 30-day and in-hospital mortality in patients with PE, and it is recommended that physicians be aware of the risk of death from PE, especially when patients have pleural effusion. Further investigations focusing on PE with pleural effusion are warranted.