Safety and effectiveness of CT-guided percutaneous pulmonary paracentesis and tuberculoma perfusing chemotherapy for the treatment of pleural tuberculosis

The aim of the study was to compare the mid- and long-term effects of different treatments such as CT-guided percutaneous pulmonary paracentesis, tuberculoma perfusing chemotherapy and whole-body standard chemotherapy or extended chemotherapy on safety and effectiveness for pleural chemotherapy. A total of 60 subjects diagnosed to have pleural tuberculosis between February 2010 and February 2014 were prospectively selected for this study and were considered as the experimental group. Seventy pleural tuberculosis patients who underwent treatment between February 2006 and February 2010 were considered as the control group. The patients in the experimental group were treated with CT-guided percutaneous pulmonary paracentesis and tuberculoma perfusing chemotherapy of not more than three courses with each course consisting of administration of 0.1 g isoniazid, n 0.5 gkanamyci, 0.2 g levofloxacin, and 1 ml lidocaine once a week for four times. The patients in the control group were treated with whole-body standard or extended chemotherapy regimen 3~6HRZE(S)/6~12HR. The patients were followed up for 18 months and the treatment effects were compared. The diameter of tuberculoma in patients of the experimental group during 6, 12 and 18 months was shorter than that of the control group (P<0.05). The total effective rate of treatment and the duration of treatment in experimental group during 18 months were higher than that of control group (P<0.05). The frequency of drug-related complications were lower in comparison with the control group (P<0.05). No surgically acquired complications were observed in the experimental group. Thus, treatments such as CT-guided percutaneous pulmonary paracentesis and tuberculoma perfusing chemotherapy for pleural tuberculosis are safe and effective, which has greater value and can be promoted for use in the clinical setting.