Abstract

We aimed to evaluate the epidemiological, clinical and laboratory findings of the 58 cases with tuberculous pleurisy, and to investigate the factors effecting sequel pleural thickening and the differences between the patients whose disease were related to primary tuberculosis or the patients whose disease course were related to reactivation tuberculosis.

Of the 58 patients, 37 (63.8%) were men, 21 were women. The mean age was 42.0±17.9 (16-74) years. The most frequent symptoms detected in the patients were as follows: weakness (84.5%), weight loss (75.9%), dyspnea, thoracic pain (72.4%), sweat (69%), cough (67.2%), fever (65.5%). X-ray revealed “only pleural effusion”(70.7%) in most of the patients. Computed tomography scans revealed “pleural effusion” and “irregular or smooth pleural thickening accompanied to pleural effusion” (82.4%). 80% of the patients, had PPD enduration over than 10 mm, 19% had glucose level less than 60 mg/dL, 1.7% had LDH level less than 200 IU, and 18.2% had ADA level less than 70 U/L in pleural fluid. Sixteen percent of the cases additionaly treated with steroids. Cough was significantly more frequent amoung the patients with sequel pleural thickening than those without sequel. The course of the disease was consistent with primary tuberculosis in 22.4% of the patients and with reactivation in 55.2%. The patients whose disease course were consistent with postprimary tuberculosis were older. Those patients whose disease course were consistent with primary tuberculosis more frequently revealed “pleural effusion+pleural thickening” in x-ray and had a greater amont of pleural fluid.