"Contarini's condition:" bilateral pleural effusions with markedly different characteristics.

A leukemic patient presented with bilateral pleural effusions. The effusions were markedly different in their characteristics; left-sided staphylococcal empyema and right-sided lymphocytic effusion. To our knowledge, there are no cases of this type reported in the modern literature. The importance of bilateral diagnostic thoracocentesis in patients on immunosuppressant therapy is emphasized.