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Ascitic fluid adenosine deaminase insensitivity in detecting tuberculous peritonitis in the United States
D J Hillebrand1, B A Runyon, W G Yasmineh
1University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, USA.
Abstract:
Tuberculous peritonitis, although common in Third World countries, remains an uncommon cause of ascites in the United States. Ascitic fluid adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity has been proposed as a useful diagnostic test. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the clinical utility of ascitic fluid ADA activity in diagnosing tuberculous peritonitis in a U.S. patient population. A total of 368 ascitic fluid specimens from a well-characterized ascitic fluid bank, including tuberculous peritonitis (n = 7), tuberculous peritonitis in the setting of cirrhosis (n = 10), and consecutive specimens of widely varied etiologies (n = 351) were analyzed for ADA activity by ultraviolet spectrophotometry at 265 nm. The overall sensitivity of the ADA determination in diagnosing tuberculous peritonitis was only 58.8%, and the specificity was 95.4%. The accuracy of ADA determination (93.8%) compared favorably with that of the common ascitic fluid tests of white blood cell (WBC) count (>500/mm3), total protein (>2.5 g/dL), and combined WBC count and total protein (45.8%, 74.4%, and 81.3%, respectively). However, ADA was only 30% sensitive in detecting tuberculous peritonitis in the setting of cirrhosis, and cirrhosis was present in 59% of the tuberculous peritonitis patients in our population. In addition, malignancy-related ascites (13%) and bacterial peritonitis specimens (5.8%) occasionally yielded false-positive results. In conclusion, our results indicate that the ascitic fluid ADA activity has good accuracy but poor sensitivity and imperfect specificity in a U.S. patient population in which the prevalence of tuberculosis is low and underlying cirrhosis is common.
Insights
Ascitic fluid adenosine deaminase (ADA) testing shows good accuracy but poor sensitivity for diagnosing tuberculous peritonitis in the U.S. This is especially true for patients with cirrhosis, where ADA is less reliable.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Infectious Diseases
- Clinical Diagnostics
Background:
- Tuberculous peritonitis is an uncommon cause of ascites in the U.S.
- Ascitic fluid adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity is a proposed diagnostic marker.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the clinical utility of ascitic fluid ADA activity for diagnosing tuberculous peritonitis in a U.S. patient population.
- To assess ADA sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing tuberculous peritonitis, particularly in patients with underlying cirrhosis.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 368 ascitic fluid specimens.
- ADA activity measured by ultraviolet spectrophotometry.
- Comparison with white blood cell count and total protein levels.
Main Results:
- Overall ADA sensitivity was 58.8%, specificity 95.4%, and accuracy 93.8%.
- Sensitivity decreased to 30% in tuberculous peritonitis with cirrhosis.
- False positives occurred with malignancy-related and bacterial peritonitis.
Conclusions:
- Ascitic fluid ADA activity has good accuracy but limited sensitivity and imperfect specificity in the U.S.
- ADA is less reliable for diagnosing tuberculous peritonitis in patients with common underlying cirrhosis.
- Low tuberculosis prevalence and high cirrhosis rates impact ADA test utility in the U.S.
