INTRODUCTION Tuberculous pleural effusions are not always easy to diagnose but the presence of a lymphocyte-rich exudate associated with an increased adenosine deaminase level and a positive skin test result are highly sensitive diagnostic signs. CASE PRESENTATION We report a case of pleural tuberculosis in a 31-year-old white male patient from Caracas, Venezuela who was negative for human im...

BACKGROUND The nonspecific clinical presentation and paucibacillary nature of tuberculous pleuritis remains a challenge for diagnosis. Diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion depends on the demonstration of the presence of tubercle bacilli in the sputum, pleural fluid, or pleural biopsy specimen, or demonstration of granuloma in pleura by histological examination. We examined the clinical uti...

UNLABELLED Malignant pleural effusion in patients with cancers or malignant pleural mesothelioma may often appear at the late stage of disease and significantly affect the patients' life quality and survival. However, there is still no very effective treatment to control malignant pleural effusion. Here we report that malignant pleural effusion in one patient was completely relieved for 15 mont...

Human immunodeficiency virus infection changes the clinical presentation of tuberculosis infection with atypical radiographs and more common extra-pulmonary involvement. We retrospectively studied pleural tuberculosis in HIV-positive patients over a 5-year period. We identified 70 patients with pleural tuberculosis by positive Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultures of pleural fluid and/or pleural ...

Fluids in which Mycobacterium tuberculosis are seldom found, such as pleural and cerebrospinal liquids, are good candidates to be studied using PCR techniques. We detail our experience with a PCR assay applied to pleural and cerebrospinal fluids using the primer MPB64. Seventy three specimens were analyzed: 30 pleural fluids (PF), 26 pleural biopsies (PB) and 17 cerebrospinal fluids (CSF). The ...

Sixty patients of pleural effusion with different aetiology are described. Various microbiological and biochemical parameters were done simultaneously in blood and pleural fluid to differentiate tuberculosis and non-tuberculosis effusions. Some biochemical tests were thought to be helpful in differential diagnosis but no single parameter was found diagnostic. Routine investigations of pleural f...

Aim: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of pleural fluid ADA for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion taking the cut off value of ADA as ≥ 40 mg/dl. Methods: It was a prospective, analytical study comprised of 220 patients having pleural effusion. Sputum smear examination and sputum culture for mycobacterium tuberculosis, pleural fluid examination for protein, glucose, cell c...

Several past and recent investigations have focused on the determination of tumor markers in pleural fluids to assess their usefulness as less invasive replacement method of diagnosis. In this regard, few studies have dealt with the determination of the tumor marker, neuron specific enolase (NSE), in pleural fluids of patients suffering from both benign and malignant diseases such as non small ...

The possibility of tuberculous pleuritis should be considered in every patient with an undiagnosed pleural effusion, for if this diagnosis is not made the patient will recover only to have a high likelihood of subsequently developing pulmonary or extrapulmonary tuberculosis Between 3% and 25% of patients with tuberculosis will have tuberculous pleuritis. The incidence of pleural tuberculosis is...