[Measurement of adenosine deaminase activity (ADA) in the pleural fluid]

ADA was examined in pleural fluid in cases of tuberculous and cancerous pleurisy. The level of ADA in pleural fluid in tuberculosis group (59.6 +/- 33.6 U/L) was significantly higher than that of cancerous group (13.3 +/- 4.0 U/L) (P less than 0.01). The positive rates were 90.0% and 3.3% respectively.