Enlarging pleural effusion after liver transplantation

Ten of 42 patients who underwent liver transplantation were retrospectively found to have enlarging pleural effusions later than 3 days after transplantation. Seven of the 10 patients had subdiaphragmatic pathology, including 4 with hematomas, 1 with a biloma, and 2 with abscesses. One patient with a subphrenic abscess also had an empyema. Patients with an enlarging pleural effusion later than 3 days after transplantation should be evaluated for subdiaphragmatic pathology.