IMPORTANT: We currently have a number of bugs related to image cropping and are actively trying to resolve them. In the meantime, we have disabled cropping. Apologies for any inconvenience. Stay informed: radiopaedia.org/chat

Tuberculous empyema - chronic

Case contributed by Rupesh Namdev
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Old case of pulmonary Koch's, treatment defaulter. Now presenting with cough and breathing difficulty

Patient Data

Age: 40-45 years old
Gender: Female

Plain CT of chest reveals a thick rind of pleura in the left hemithorax, with thick and irregular calcification of both visceral and parietal pleura encasing a small amount of hypodense loculated pleural collection.

Few calcified mediastinal lymphnodes are also seen. Small parenchymal granuloma calcifications and fibrosis are seen.

Volume loss in the left hemithorax. There is mild thickening of ribs seen on the left side with a rather crowded appearance due to ipsilateral lung volume loss.

Case Discussion

Tuberculous empyema is a chronic, active infection of the pleural space characterized by thick rind of pleura with thick and irregular calcification of both parietal and visceral pleura usually surrounding a loculated pleural fluid which contains a large number of tubercle bacilli.

How to use cases

You can use Radiopaedia cases in a variety of ways to help you learn and teach.

Creating your own cases is easy.

Updating… Please wait.

 Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.

 Thank you for updating your details.