[Serum adenosine deaminase activity in pulmonary tuberculosis]

Adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity has been helpful for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy. However, there are few studies about the role of ADA in the diagnosis and follow-up of pulmonary tuberculosis. In our study, serum ADA activity was determined in order to investigate the role of the enzyme in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis and monitoring the efficiency of therapy. The ADA activity was (mean +/- SD) 21.77 +/- 8.51 U/L in pulmonary tuberculosis patients (n= 44), 6.24 +/- 3.25 U/L in old tuberculosis patients (n= 24), 8.58 +/- 4.38 U/L in healthy control subjects (n= 20), whereas the mean for the patients with bronchial cancer (n= 20) was 18.51 +/- 7.85 U/L. There was no statistical difference between the results of pulmonary tuberculosis patients and the patients with bronchial cancer. On the contrary, the result of these two group were significantly different from both old tuberculosis patients and healthy control subjects (p< 0.001 for both). In 10 pulmonary tuberculosis patients, ADA activities were determined both before and after treatment and a significant decrease was observed in ADA activities after treatment (p< 0.001). In conclusion, serum ADA activity is increased in pulmonary tuberculosis patients, therefore it may be a helpful parameter for monitoring therapy.