Pleural Tuberculosis: A Febrile Presentation Without Respiratory Symptoms

Ussama Ghumman; Haider Ghumman; Khalid Nawab; Amandeep Singh; Awais Naeem

doi:10.7759/cureus.10643

Pleural Tuberculosis: A Febrile Presentation Without Respiratory Symptoms

Cureus. 2020 Sep 25;12(9):e10643. doi: 10.7759/cureus.10643.

Authors

Ussama Ghumman¹, Haider Ghumman², Khalid Nawab³, Amandeep Singh³, Awais Naeem⁴

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Camp Hill, USA.
² Internal Medicine, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, USA.
³ Internal Medicine, Geisinger Holy Spirit Hospital, Camp Hill, USA.
⁴ Internal Medicine, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, PAK.

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the largest public health crises globally, with pleural TB comprising a large portion of cases. It has a significantly minimal presence within the United States in comparison to the rest of the world. Awareness of its presence and acumen on diagnostics and treatment are essential. Conventional tests are often time consuming, and do not always yield accurate results. We present the case of a patient presenting with fevers but no cough, who eventually found to have large pleural effusion and concluded to have pleural TB without pulmonary parenchymal involvement. He then showed measurable improvement with empiric treatment.

Keywords: fever; pleural effusion; pleural tuberculosis; tuberculosis.

Publication types

Case Reports