Praxis
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A 26 year old women was seen at our outpatient clinic because of fever, dyspnea, chest pain and night sweats. An echocardiography revealed a moderate pericardial effusion. Therapy with a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug was started, but the patient did not improve clinically. ⋯ Usual laboratory tests, serological tests and examination of pleural effusion were not conclusive. However, a tuberculin skin test was positive. The etiologic diagnosis of this pericarditis and pleuritis was obtained by thoracoscopic pleural biopsy, which yielded Mycobacterium tuberculosis.