Abstract
Introduction: nitric oxide (NO), produced by the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), is important in host defence against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in animal models. But the presence of high output NO production in human tuberculosis has been controversial. Objective: To investigate nitric oxide expression (NO) in pleural tuberculosis Methods: The serum and pleural fluid NO in the patients with exsudative pleural effusion were analyzed. Results: Of total 151 patients, there were 77 males and average age of patients was 47, 28 ± 19, 5 years. The final diagnosis was tuberculous pleurisy in 84 cases and malignant pleural effusion in 67. The pleural fluid NO level was 68, 46 ± 57, 88 μmol in the tuberculous pleurisy patients and 62, 39 ± 51, 45 μmol in the malignant pleural effusion patients (p Conclusion: NO is not a suitable marker for tuberculous pleuritis because, because it is produced in other pathologies such as neoplasic and inflammatory diseases.
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