Echocardiography in differentiating tuberculous from chronic idiopathic pericardial effusion.

T uberculous pericarditis continues to have a high incidence in developing countries. Despite effective antimicrobial treatment and improved public health in developed countries, there has been a recent surge in the incidence of both atypical and classical tuberculosis in immunocompromised patients, especially those infected with HIV. Only a few studies have been published describing the echocardiographic features of tuberculous pericardial effusion, especially with reference to echocardiographic intrapericardial abnormalities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the echocardiographic features of tuberculous pericardial effusion and assess the diagnostic and prognostic usefulness of echocardiographic intrapericardial abnormalities in distinguishing between patients with tuberculous pericardial effusion and idiopathic/viral pericardial effusion, which has not been previously studied.