Tuberculous pleural effusions: ultrasonic diagnosis.
Twenty patients with tuberculous pleural effusions were studied with ultrasonography. In 18 patients, ultrasonography demonstrated regular pleural thickening which was less than 1 cm except in 1 case. In 4 cases there were a few pleural nodules, whereas in 2 cases the pleural surface showed small nodularity. The latter finding may be diagnostic for a tuberculous etiology. Eighteen patients had multiple, delicate, mobile septations in the effusions, and a lattice-like appearance had formed in 6 cases. Computed tomography was obtained in 7 cases, and pleural thickening was demonstrated in 6 of them. Ultrasonography is a useful imaging modality in the diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy.
Akhan
O
O
Department of Radiology, Hacettepe University, School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Demirkazik
F B
FB
Ozmen
M N
MN
Balkanci
F
F
Ozkara
S
S
Cöplü
L
L
Emri
A
A
Besim
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010994:Pleura / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014396:Tuberculosis, Pleural / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D014463:Ultrasonography