Case Reports : Rheumatoid pleural effusions and trapped lung : An uncommon complication of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disease affecting approximately 1[percent] of the population. It is familiarly defined as "chronic, symmetric, debilitating and destructive inflammatory polyarthritis characterized by proliferative synovial tissue (pannus) formation in affected joints" (1). Pain symptoms are typically worse in the morning, thedisease affects females more than males, and ulnar deviation and swan neck deformities are common. Perhaps less well known is the extensive list of extra-articular manifestations (EAMs) that can occur at any time duringthe course of the disease. EAMs affect an estimated 18-41[percent] of patients with RA (1). Renal, pulmonary cardiovascular, nervous, and integumentary system manifestations have all been described. Our case is that of anRA patient with shortness of breath and pleural effusions