BACKGROUND The diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy is difficult and traditional methods are not always helpful. Many studies have focused on the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) assay in pleural effusion for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy, but the results remain controversial. This meta-analysis was conducted to determine the overall diagnostic accuracy of TNF-α. METHODS Relevant stud...

A 46-year-old woman developed a right pleural effusion 8 weeks after standard chemotherapy for tuberculous pleurisy on the left side had been started. Pleural biospy demonstrated caseous granulomatous changes. The patient improved following continuation of the same treatment.

Tuberculous pleurisy is a severe inflammatory response induced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis organisms that have escaped from lung granulomata into the pleural space during pulmonary infection. We have used the guinea pig model of tuberculous pleurisy to examine several aspects of the immune response to this antigen-specific inflammatory event. Pleurisy was induced by injection of heat-killed M...

The object of treatment in tuberculous pleurisy is to shorten the acute phase of the illness, to restore the integrity of the pleura, and, above all, to prevent further manifestations of tuberculosis. Rest, chemotherapy, and aspiration are each supposed to achieve some of these aims, but their relative importance has not been established. The value of rest was stressed by Roper and Waring (1955...

The present study aims to test reliability of interferon gamma (IFNγ) as a diagnostic marker for tuberculous pleurisy. In this study, interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) were therefore compared with adenosine deaminase (ADA) in exudative pleural effusion of inflammatory, malignant and tuberculous origin to determine their diagnostic value and whet...

An extensive, although largely forgotten, literature addresses the utility of adjunctive corticosteroid therapy in the management of tuberculosis. Corticosteroid therapy probably improves neurological outcomes of, and decreases mortality due to, tuberculous meningitis of moderate severity. Although therapy for tuberculous pericarditis is simplified (with less need for operative intervention) by...

Tuberculous spondylitis is a very rare disease, but it can result in bone destruction, kyphotic deformity, spinal instability, and neurologic complications unless early diagnosis and proper management are done. Because the most common symptom of tuberculous spondylitis is back pain, it can often be misdiagnosed. Atypical tuberculous spondylitis can be presented as a metastatic cancer or a prima...