Prospective Evaluation of Safety and Diagnostic Efficacy of Medical Thoracoscopy in Undiagnosed Exudative Pleural Effusion: Experience From a Tuberculosis High-Burden Country

Pleural effusion is due to the pathological accumulation of pleural fluid in the pleural space, 25%-30% of which may remain undiagnosed despite the combination of biochemical, microbiological, and pathological tests and closed pleural biopsy. Medical thoracoscopy may help physicians diagnose such cases. We aimed to study the diagnostic yield of medical thoracoscopy in patients with undiagnosed exudative pleural effusion and assess the safety profile of the medical thoracoscopy.