Tuberculous pleural effusion and lymphadenitis treated with rifampin-containing regimen

Rifampin, isoniazid, and ethambutol were administered in single daily dose for nine months to 91 patients with pleural effusion and 45 patients with lymphadenitis, both of tuberculous etiology. Clinical and roentgenographic clearance of pleural effusion was successfully achieved in all cases at the end of nine months of treatment. Followup of 80 cases of pleural effusion up to nine months, in 55 cases up to one year, and up to two years in 30 cases after completion of therapy, showed no recurrence. In the cases of tuberculous lymphadenitis, resolution of lymph nodes occurred in 31 cases (68.8 percent) at the end of nine months of treatment. Therapy had to be extended for varying periods for achieving successful response, and in five cases, medical treatment had to be supplemented with surgical drainage and excision of the nodes. Short course chemotherapy can be used to treat pleural effusion, but the same mode of treatment is less effective for cases of tuberculous lymphadenitis.