CLINICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TUBERCULOUS PLEURISY MANIFESTATIONS IN THOSE WITH ALCOHOL ADDICTION

Goal of the study : to study specific features of detection, diagnostics, clinical, morphological manifestations and treatment efficiency of tuberculous exudative pleurisy in those with alcohol addiction. Materials and methods . 62 medical cases of those suffering from exudative tuberculous pleurisy were retrospectively studied, in whom alcohol addiction was diagnosed basing on the patient's history and examination by the substance abuse doctor. Tuberculous pleurisy was verified in 80.65% of cases. Results : Alcohol addiction was diagnosed in 15% of those suffering from tuberculous pleurisy. Among patients with alcohol addiction 47% were 30 years old and older, and they were single, 11% lived alone, 76% were the unemployed but within employable age, 27% had previous convictions, and 10% were homeless. More than 27% of patients had not have fluorography screening for 2 years and more. In 53% of cases pleurisy was combined with concurrent pulmonary lesions and in 27% of cases respiratory lesions were bilateral. Destruction of lung tissue was observed in 42% of cases, and in 35.5% tuberculosis mycobacteria were found in sputum. Caseous necrosis was found in 7.5% of cases, epithelioid giant-cell granulomas were found in 64% of cases, and caseous necrosis in granulemas was found in 44% of cases when examining the needle biopsy specimens. Poor treatment adherence and low treatment efficiency had been observed among those patients.