Surgical diagnosis of effusive bronchopulmonary disease in Nigerians: the role of pleural biopsy at tube thoracostomy.

Seventy-two consecutive patients who had pleural biopsy through tube thoracostomy sites (TTSPB) for pleuro-pulmonary diseases associated with pleural effusion at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital between April 1982 and September 1987 were reviewed. The objective was to determine the diagnostic yield of pleural biopsy material in these patients. The patients, whose ages ranged from 9 months to 90 years, had final diagnoses of non-tuberculous pleuritis (35 patients), tuberculous pleuritis (14 patients), primary and secondary malignancies and reticulosis (23 patients). Diagnostic yield by TTSPB was 95.8% (69 patients) while clinicopathologic concurrence was 90.3% (65 patients). For patients presenting with pleural fluid collection secondary to pleuropulmonary disease, TTSPB is a reliable, safe, cost-effective and relatively simple thoracic surgical diagnostic procedure which gives a higher diagnostic yield and clinico-pathologic concurrence than percutaneous needle biopsy.