Clinical Features of Pleural Tuberculosis

Abstract

Purpose: Pleural tuberculosis is a common and important disease in Taiwan. Previous studies have not focused on the sex differences of pleural tuberculosis. The purpose of the study was to elucidate the clinical features and sex difference in the presentation of pleural tuberculosis.Method: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with pleural tuberculosis who initiated therapy at a regional hospital in northern Taiwan between January 2003 and March 2008. The identified characteristics were analyzed and compared in males and females.Results: Thirty-three patients (24 males and 9 females) with a mean age of 65.8 ± 20.8 years were enrolled into our study. There was a much higher proportion of right pleural involvement than the left and bilateral cases (66.7% vs. 24.2% vs.9.1%), especially in females (88.9% vs. 11.1% vs. 0.0%). More male than female patients were former or current smokers (58.3% vs. 11.1%, p = 0.021), had concurrent pulmonary tuberculosis (37.5% vs. 0.0%, p = 0.039), and weakness (58.3% vs. 11.1%, p = 0.021). The neutrophil count was higher in males (6.0 ± 2.9 vs. 4.3 ± 1.4 × 109/L, p = 0.033). The creatinine level was also higher in males (107 ± 40 vs. 77 ± 19 μmol/L, p = 0.006).Conclusion: Our study expands the knowledge of the clinical features of pleural tuberculosis. The patients with pleural tuberculosis are male-predominant and older in Taiwan. There are indeed sex differences in the presentation of pleural tuberculosis in Taiwan.