Abstract
Background: Tuberculosis is a leading cause of worldwide preventable morbidity and mortality from an infectious agent. A defi nite diagnosis of tubercular pleural effusion can be diffi cult to make because of low sensitivity and/or specifi city of noninvasive traditional diagnostic tools. This study is done to fi nd out a sensitive and specifi c marker for early diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion. Materials and Methods: One hundred and three pleural effusion cases were enrolled in the study, out of which 62 were tuberculous pleural effusion cases and 49 were non-tuberculous cases. Results: Considering 40 U/L as a cut off value for Adenosine deaminase assay level, the test result was positive in 58 out of 62 patients of tuberculosis indicating sensitivity of the test as 94%; however, among 41 non-tuberculous patients, 5 presented ADA activity level more than 40U/L, which lowers the specifi city of the test to 88%. ADA levels were signifi cantly higher in tuberculous than in non tuberculous cases (P value <0.001). Conclusion: It may be concluded that ADA levels are signifi cantly high in patients with tuberculous pleural effusion compared to that in non tuberculous group. Sensitivity (94%) and specifi city (88%) of the test in tuberculous pleural effusions are very high, when cut off value set at 40U/L. The result indicated that the analysis of ADA levels in pleural effusion constitute a very useful marker for the diagnosis of TPE which, in addition, can be made quickly in a non- invasive way. Journal of Pathology of Nepal (2013) Vol. 3, No.1, Issue 5, 367-373 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jpn.v3i5.7860
Highlights
Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of great antiquity
According to the diagnostic criteria for patients of tuberculous pleural effusion, out of 62 patients diagnosed as having TPE, tuberculin test was positive in 42 cases (67.8%), a pleural biopsy exhibited granulomatous inflammation in 27 cases (43.5%) and chronic inflammatory lesion in 27 cases (43.5%) for whom anti-tuberculous treatment (anti-TB) drugs were
Pleural fluid staining for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) was positive in 6 patients (9.6%), a pleural fluid culture for M. tuberculosis was positive in 14 patients (22.5%)
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of great antiquity It is a leading causes of worldwide preventable morbidity and mortality from an infectious agent. Tuberculosis infection, extrapulmonary TB constitutes a frequent clinical problem, Correspondence: Dr Shimul Kumar Bhowmik, MD Registrar, Department of Medicine, National Institute of Disease of the Chest and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh due to advancing immunosuppressant in the present era of HIV infection.[1] A pleural effusion occurs in approximately 5% of patients with TB.[2]. No study regarding prevalence of tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) was found to be done here. Tuberculosis is a leading cause of worldwide preventable morbidity and mortality from an infectious agent. This study is done to find out a sensitive and specific marker for early diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
