Table 1. The demographic and clinical characteristics of study participants.
| Total | TPE | MPE | Pneumonia | PTB | HC | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | 134 | 50 | 41 | 11 | 15 | 17 | – |
| Male/Female | 93/41 | 37/13 | 30/11 | 9/2 | 10/5 | 7/10 | 0.09 |
| Age, mean (range) | 53.2 (12–91) | 47.6 (12–84) | 64.7 (39–91) | 55.8 (29–90) | 48.7 (16–78) | 38.9 (25–69) | <0.0001 |
| BCG vaccination history, n (%) | 83 (61.9) | 40 (80.0) | 15 (36.6) | 6 (54.5) | 11 (73.3) | 11 (64.7) | <0.0001 |
| Previous TB treatment, n (%) | 24 (17.9) | 12 (24.0) | 0 | 0 | 12 (80.0) | 0 | 0.0001 |
| History of exposure to active TB, n (%) | 12 (9.0) | 6 (12.0) | 2 (4.9) | 0 (0) | 4 (26.7) | 0 | 1.0 |
| Sputum AFB smears or culture positive, n (%) | 28 (20.9) | 13 (26.0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 15 (100) | 0 | – |
| M. tb detection in pleural effusion | |||||||
| AFB smears positive, n (%) | 2 (1.5) | 2 (4.0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| Culture-positive, n (%) | 5 (3.7) | 5 (10.0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| Confirmed TB by pleural biopsy, n (%) | 16 (11.9) | 16 (32.0) | – | – | – | – | – |
TPE: Tuberculous pleural effusion, MPE: Malignant pleural effusion; PTB: Pulmonary tuberculosis; HC: Healthy control; TB: tuberculosis; BCG: bacillus Calmette-Guerin; AFB: acid fast bacilli.