Pleural Tuberculosis: A Febrile Presentation Without Respiratory Symptoms

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.