A prospective evaluation reported that a CRISPR-Cas13a assay detecting cell-free bacterial DNA in pleural effusion supernatant achieved 80.5% diagnostic sensitivity for tuberculous pleurisy. The study supports rapid molecular diagnostics that may complement conventional microbiology and imaging-based workflows. For diagnostic developers, the results highlight how CRISPR-based platforms are progressing toward clinically actionable performance in real-world sample matrices like pleural fluid.