tuberculous empyema
Tuberculous empyema is a chronic, active infection of the pleural space characterized by a thick rind of pleura with dense and irregular calcification of both the parietal and visceral pleura usually surrounding a loculated pleural fluid which contains a large number of tubercle bacilli . This could act as a fibrothorax
It is different from the more common tuberculous pleural effusion which is an inflammatory response to a localized paucibacillary pleural infection with tuberculosis.
Treatment and prognosis
Treatment consists of pleural space drainage, decortication to allow re-expansion of the trapped lung and decortication plus pneumonectomy to remove a lung . Adjuvant antituberculous chemotherapy may also be given, but usually leads to development of drug resistance as the drugs are unable to cross the thick calcified pleural barrier .
See also
Siehe auch:
Assoziationen und Differentialdiagnosen zu chronic tuberculous empyema:
