- Main symptoms
- How contagion happens
- How to confirm the diagnosis
- How the treatment is done
- Is pleural tuberculosis curable?
Pleural tuberculosis is an infection of the pleura, which is the thin film that lines the lungs, by the Koch bacillus, causing symptoms such as chest pain, cough, shortness of breath and fever.
This is one of the most common types of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, that is, it manifests outside the lungs, such as bone, throat, ganglia or kidneys, being a more common situation in people with weakened immunity, such as people with AIDS, cancer or using corticosteroids, for example. Learn more about what it is and how to identify extra-pulmonary tuberculosis.
To treat pleural tuberculosis, the pulmonologist, or the infectious disease specialist, usually indicates a treatment schedule, of at least 6 months, with 4 antibiotic drugs, which are Rifampicin, Isoniazid, Pyrazinamide and Ethambutol.
Main symptoms
The symptoms of pleural tuberculosis are:
- Dry cough; Pain in the chest, which arises during breathing; Fever; Increased night sweat; Difficulty breathing; Thinning without apparent cause; Malaise; Loss of appetite.
Usually, the first symptom presented is cough, which is accompanied by a slight pain in the chest. After a few hours, the other symptoms set in and worsen, until the person has difficulty breathing and feels short of breath.
Whenever a lung problem is suspected, it is very important to go to the hospital or consult a pulmonologist to start treatment as soon as possible and avoid possible complications.
How contagion happens
Pleural tuberculosis is not contagious, as Koch's bacillus is not present in lung secretions and is not easily transmitted through sneezing or coughing. Thus, those who acquire this type of tuberculosis must be contaminated by people with pulmonary tuberculosis, who, when coughing, spread large amounts of bacteria in the environment.
Then, microorganisms reach the pleura after spreading through the bloodstream or directly from lesions formed in the lung. Some people may also develop pleural tuberculosis as a complication of pulmonary tuberculosis, for example.
How to confirm the diagnosis
To make the diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis, in addition to assessing the person's symptoms and history, the doctor may also order tests, such as:
- Analysis of pleural fluid to detect enzymes present in the infection, such as lysozyme and ADA; Chest X-ray; Sputum examination for tuberculosis bacillus (BAAR) research; Mantoux test, also known as tuberculin test or PPD. Understand how it is done and when it is indicated; Bronchoscopy.
A chest X-ray may show lesions in the pleura, such as thickening or calcification, or also a pleural effusion, also known as water in the lung, which usually affects only 1 of the lungs. Better understand what it is and the other possible causes of pleural effusion.
How the treatment is done
Pleural tuberculosis can be spontaneously cured in some cases, even without treatment, however, treatment is usually done with the combination of 4 antibiotics called Rifampicin, Isoniazid, Pyrazinamide and Ethambutol.
The fever can disappear in two weeks, but it can persist for six or eight weeks, and the pleural effusion disappears in about six weeks, but it can persist for three to four months.
In general, the patient shows significant improvement in the first 15 days of treatment, but it is important to take the drugs prescribed by the doctor even in the absence of symptoms, as the bacillus takes a long time to be completely removed from the body. Find out more details on ways to treat tuberculosis.
Is pleural tuberculosis curable?
Pleural tuberculosis has a 100% chance of cure. However, if the treatment is not carried out properly, there may be complications such as the development of tuberculosis in other regions of the body.
