BACKGROUND Lymphocytes have a central role in human defences against mycobacteria. A study was designed to assess the relation between lymphocyte responses and clinical pattern of disease, nutrition and recovery during treatment in patients with tuberculosis. METHODS Lymphocyte numbers and subsets (on the basis of CD3, CD4, and CD8 monoclonal antibodies) were measured in peripheral blood and,...

We present a case of pleural effusion with encapsulation that was observed in the right thorax of a patient. PCR analysis of the patient's pleural effusion showed positivity for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. After six months, his chest CT showed the development of niveau and pulmonary consolidation. We definitively diagnosed him as having chronic pulmonary tuberculosis with tuberculous empyema dr...

An eight-year-old, 4.9 kg, intact male mongrel dog presented with progressive weight loss, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhoea, and open-mouth breathing. A thoracic radiograph showed significant pleural effusion. Upon removal of the pleural effusion, an oval-shaped soft-tissue density mass was identified above the heart base. Two months later, the dog’s condition worsened severely, and he was euthani...

We present the case of a 43-year-old Italian woman with a left undiagnosed pleural effusion, which in subsequent months presented a clinically unexpected evolution with the appearance at first of a right wrist tenosynovitis and subsequently a bilateral lung involvement caused by M. Tuberculosis. With this case report, we would like to underline the importance of making a correct diagnosis of an...

Fiberoptic bronchoscopy was carried out in 28 patients with an undiagnosed pleural effusion. In four patients, the diagnosis was made by this examination. Three patients had bronchial carcinomas, and one had tuberculosis. None of these four patients had roentgenographic evidence of pulmonary infiltrates, atelectasis, or mass lesions. Pleuroscopic examination was performed in 14 patients with th...

The activity of adenosine deaminase was studied in nine cases of rheumatoid pleural effusion, showing an increase in enzyme activity in all. Rheumatoid arthritis seems unique, however, as it cannot be differentiated from pleural tuberculosis on the basis of this test. Selective increase of adenosine deaminase in both conditions is attributed to stimulation of T lymphocytes in the pleural fluid.

P leural disease in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is well documented and commonly presents with pleural effusions in 20% of patients. However, solid pleural involvement is less common and is usually a secondary event. Primary pleural lymphomas are extremely rare and, in a series reported by Burgener and Hamlin, pleural plaques were seen in less then 4% of cases. Two types of primary pleural lymphomas ...

More compatible with 'cryptic miliary tuberculosis' To the Editor—I read with interest the case report published by Shea and Ip titled " Pulmonary tuberculosis complicating asbestosis ". 1 On reading the details, I could not agree on the authors' interpretation of the findings and the diagnosis of asbestosis. While it is beyond doubt that the findings of calcified pleural plaques point towards ...

background nucleic acid based detection of mycobacterium tuberculosis has the potential to improve the analysis of the tuberculosis epidemiology and patient care by increasing the specificity and sensitivity of diagnosis. patients and methods fifty suspected cases were screened for m. tuberculosis by using a new primer sequence and comparing its results with the primer (is6110) most widely used...