Pleural disease remains common, affecting over 3000 people per million population each year. They therefore represent a significant contribution to the workload of respiratory physicians. Pleural disease originates from a wide range of pathologies and a systematic approach to the investigation and management is therefore required.

The guideline has the following sections:

• Introduction and methods
• Investigation of a unilateral pleural effusion in adults
• Management of spontaneous pneumothorax
• Management of a malignant pleural effusion
• Management of pleural infection in adults
• Local anaesthetic thoracoscopy
• Pleural procedures and thoracic ultrasound