Adjunct therapy with corticosteroids or paracentesis for treatment of tuberculous pleural effusion

To determine the effect of adjunct therapy, we carried out a prospective cohort study on190 patients with tuberculous pleural effusion during May 2003- April 2004. Patients were divided into3 groups. All groups were treated with anti- tuberculosis [TB] drugs for 6 months; in group 2 [n = 46]prednisolone, 30 mg/ day for 10 days, was added; group 3 [n = 78] were given paracentesis to remove fluid. Fever and constitutional symptoms disappeared faster in group 2 [P > 0.05]. After 10 days, there was a significantly greater reduction in the size of pleural effusion in group 2, but after 6 months thedifference was not statistically significant. We found corticosteroids and therapeutic paracentesis are not necessary in the management of TB pleural effusion