Place of neopterin level in the differential diagnosis of tuberculosis pleurisy

Abstract

AbsractAim. Tuberculous pleurisy is one of the most common form of pulmonary tuberculosis, and may be confused with many other diseases. This study was designed to assess the diagnostic value of pleural fluid neopterin levels in patients with tuberculous pleurisy. Methods. A total of 57 patients [tuberculosis pleurisy (n=30), malignant pleural effusion (n=17), pleural effusion due to congestive heart failure (n=10)] were included in the study. The measurement of neopterin levels was conducted by the enzymeimmunassay method and Trinity-Biotech XL fully automatic ELISA kit device and neopterin IBL kit. Results. The neopterin levels in patients with tuberculous pleurisy were significantly higher than that of both malignancy and congestive heart failure (p<0.001). The neopterin levels of patients with congestive heart failure and malignancy were found as similar (p=0.920). There was no significant difference in the neopterin levels with regard to age and sex (p>0.05). Conclusions. Tuberculous pleurisy increases neopterin levels of pleural fluid when compared with malignancy and congestive heart failure. In this respect, neopterin level in the pleural fluid may be a useful diagnostic marker of tuberculous pleurisy.Keywords: Neopterin; pleural effusion; tuberculous pleurisy Özet Amaç. Tüberküloz plörezi akciğer tüberkülozunun en sık formlarından biri olup birçok hastalıkla karışabilir. Bu çalışma tüberküloz plörezili hastaların plevral sıvılarındaki neopterin seviyelerinin tanısal değerini belirlemek için yapılmıştır. Yöntem. Toplam 57 hasta [tüberküloz plörezi (n=30), malign plevral efüzyon (n=17) ve konjestif kalp yetmezliği