[The sequential changes of serum acute phase reactants in response to antituberculous chemotherapy]

In order to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of response to antituberculous chemotherapy, we measured the serum levels such of acute phase reactants as C-reactive protein (CRP), alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (alpha 1-AG), haptoglobin, alpha-1-antitrypsin (alpha 1-AT) and sialic acid in 24 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Furthermore the relationship between these parameters and other biochemical indicators, such as serum immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA and IgM) and blood erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were observed. In the case studies of the eighteen prognostically cured patients, the serum levels of alpha 1-AG, haptoglobin, alpha 1-AT and sialic acid were significantly higher than those of healthy controls (P less than 0.01), and were significantly decreased to normal levels within three to five weeks after negative results for tubercule bacilli were obtained in the sputum cultures, while CRP, immunoglobulin and ESR showed a tendency to be lower than the healthy controls. In conclusion, alpha 1-AG, haptoglobin, alpha 1-AT and sialic acid are considered to be the sensitive biochemical indicators capable of being used to predict and monitor the clinical response to antituberculous chemotherapy.