Relationship between immunoglobulin levels, tuberculin hypersensitivity and radiological extent of disease in Greek patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Abstract

Greek patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, who were studied before receiving any form of treatment, tended to have elevated immunoglobulin (Ig) levels in the IgG and IgA, but not the IgM, classes. This is in agreement with the findings of the majority of studies on immunoglobulin levels in other countries. The levels of IgA were particularly associated with the extent of disease and were significantly higher in smear-positive than in smear-negative patients. There was no significant relationship between the intensity of tuberculin sensitivity and immunoglobulin levels except for a weak tendency for patients with high IgA levels to have small skin reactions to tuberculin.