title: Role of medical thoracoscopy in the treatment of tuberculous pleural effusion.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fibrous tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) represents common disease in tuberculous clinic. Medical thoracoscopy has been used to treat pleural empyema and shown promising outcomes, but data of its use in multiloculated and organized TPE remains limited to know.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was performed on 430 cases with TPE. The cases were divided into free-flowing, multiloculated effusion and organized effusion group. Each group was subdivided into two or three types of therapeutic approaches: ultrasound guided pigtail catheter, large-bore tube chest drainage and medical thoracoscopy. Patients with multiloculated or organized effusions received streptokinase, introduced into the pleural cavity via chest tubes. The successful effectiveness of the study was defined as duration of chest drainage, time from treatment to discharge days and no further managements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with organized effusion were older than those with free-flowing effusion and incidence of organized effusion combined with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) was higher than those of multiloculated effusion and free-flowing effusion respectively. Positive tuberculosis of pleural fluid culture was higher in organized effusion than that in free-flowing effusion. Sputum positive for acid-fast bacillus (AFB) in organized effusion was higher than that in multiloculated effusion and free-flowing effusion. Medical thoracoscopy showed significant efficacy in the group of multiloculated effusion and organized effusion but free-flowing effusion. No chronic morbidity and mortality related to complications was observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Medical thoracoscopy was a safe and successful method in treating multiloculated and organized TPE.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of TB clinic, 2 Centre of Thoracoscopic Surgery, Shandong Chest Hospital, Shandong Tuberculosis Control Center, Jinan 250013, China ; 3 Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway ; 4 ChiNor Research Network, Neurosurgical Department of Qilu Hospital, Brain Science Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of TB clinic, 2 Centre of Thoracoscopic Surgery, Shandong Chest Hospital, Shandong Tuberculosis Control Center, Jinan 250013, China ; 3 Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway ; 4 ChiNor Research Network, Neurosurgical Department of Qilu Hospital, Brain Science Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
authors.forename: Xusheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of TB clinic, 2 Centre of Thoracoscopic Surgery, Shandong Chest Hospital, Shandong Tuberculosis Control Center, Jinan 250013, China ; 3 Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway ; 4 ChiNor Research Network, Neurosurgical Department of Qilu Hospital, Brain Science Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
authors.forename: Huaiyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of TB clinic, 2 Centre of Thoracoscopic Surgery, Shandong Chest Hospital, Shandong Tuberculosis Control Center, Jinan 250013, China ; 3 Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway ; 4 ChiNor Research Network, Neurosurgical Department of Qilu Hospital, Brain Science Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
authors.forename: Caihong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of TB clinic, 2 Centre of Thoracoscopic Surgery, Shandong Chest Hospital, Shandong Tuberculosis Control Center, Jinan 250013, China ; 3 Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway ; 4 ChiNor Research Network, Neurosurgical Department of Qilu Hospital, Brain Science Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: Tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE); extra-pulmonary tuberculosis; medical thoracoscopy; pleurisy; tuberculosis (TB)