The appearance of pulmonary nodules ten years after tuberculous pleurisy may be caused by tuberculosis, or it may not be related to tuberculosis, such as inflammatory nodules, nodular disease, pulmonary malignant tumor, etc..
1. Tuberculous nodules: tuberculous pleurisy is mostly secondary to tuberculosis, thus the lung nodules appearing 10 years later in patients with tuberculous pleurisy may be caused by tubercle bacilli, such as caseous necrotic foci, tuberculous balls, etc.
2. Inflammatory nodules: lung nodules in patients with tuberculous pleurisy after 10 years can also be caused by inflammation of the lung, inflammatory reaction causing exudation can be manifested as nodular shadows on imaging.
3. Nodular disease: Nodular disease is a chronic granulomatous disease of unknown origin involving the whole body, which occurs in the lungs and lymph nodes, and can form epithelioid cell granulomatous nodules in the lungs. Gradual progression of the disease can lead to extensive pulmonary fibrosis.
4. Lung malignant tumors: including primary lung cancer and lung metastases can form nodular lesions in the lungs.
It is recommended to consult the doctor as soon as possible after 10 years of tuberculous pleurisy to find out the nature of lung nodules and treat them accordingly.