Abstract
Background: The T-helper type 1(Th1) lymphocytes is important in pathogenesis of tuberculosis. So, we evaluated for significance of interferon (IFN)-γ and IFN-inducible chemokines in pleural effusions.
Methods: A total of 276 subjects were enrolled. The study population comprised 80 patients with tuberculous effusions, 68 patients with malignant effusions, 53 patients with parapneumonic effusions, 27 patients with transudates, and 48 patients with miscellaneous effusions. In serum and effusion samples from patients with pleural effusions, the levels of IFN-γ, IFN-inducible T-cell alpha chemoattractant (I-TAC) and monokine induced by IFN-γ (MIG) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the levels of adenosine deaminase (ADA) were measured by colorimetry. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed.
Results: The levels of IFN-γ, I-TAC, MIG and ADA in the pleural effusions were significantly increased in the tuberculous effusions (p<0.001). From ROC analysis, the areas under the curve (AUC) for differentiating tuberculous effusions from all other groups were 0.986 for IFN-γ, 0.959 for I-TAC, 0.958 for MIG and 0.970 for ADA. In the serums, the levels of IFN-γ, I-TAC, MIG and ADA were increased in the tuberculous effusions, too. The AUC for differentiating tuberculous effusions from all other groups were 0.761 for IFN-γ, 0.707 for I-TAC, 0.838 for MIG and 0.697 for ADA.
Conclusions: All the IFN-γinducible chemokines along with and ADA showed high discriminating powers for tuberculous effusion, especially IFN-γ in effusion, and MIG in serum. Those chemokines can be useful surrogate markers in diagnosis of pleural effusion.
- Copyright ©ERS 2015