Skip to main content
PMC home page
Thorax logoLink to Thorax
. 1995 Jun;50(6):672–674. doi: 10.1136/thx.50.6.672

Use of adenosine deaminase as a diagnostic tool for tuberculous pleurisy.

L J Burgess 1, F J Maritz 1, I Le Roux 1, J J Taljaard 1
PMCID: PMC1021270  PMID: 7638812

Abstract

BACKGROUND--A statistical audit of adenosine deaminase (ADA) in pleural effusions was undertaken. METHODS--ADA analysis, cytological and microbiological examinations, and differential cell counts were performed on 462 pleural fluid samples. RESULTS--ADA activity in tuberculous effusions was higher than in any other diagnostic group. At a level of 50 U/l the sensitivity and specificity for the identification of tuberculosis was 90% and 89%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS--ADA activity remains a useful test in the evaluation of pleural effusions.

Full text

PDF
672

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Barton R. W., Goldschneider I. Nucleotide-metabolizing enzymes and lymphocyte differentiation. Mol Cell Biochem. 1979 Dec 14;28(1-3):135–147. doi: 10.1007/BF00223363. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bañales J. L., Pineda P. R., Fitzgerald J. M., Rubio H., Selman M., Salazar-Lezama M. Adenosine deaminase in the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusions. A report of 218 patients and review of the literature. Chest. 1991 Feb;99(2):355–357. doi: 10.1378/chest.99.2.355. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Beck J. R., Shultz E. K. The use of relative operating characteristic (ROC) curves in test performance evaluation. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 1986 Jan;110(1):13–20. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Berger H. W., Mejia E. Tuberculous pleurisy. Chest. 1973 Jan;63(1):88–92. doi: 10.1378/chest.63.1.88. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Editorial: Pleural effusion. Br Med J. 1975 Jul 26;3(5977):192–193. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fischer D., Van der Weyden M. B., Snyderman R., Kelley W. N. A role for adenosine deaminase in human monocyte maturation. J Clin Invest. 1976 Aug;58(2):399–407. doi: 10.1172/JCI108484. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Jay S. J. Diagnostic procedures for pleural disease. Clin Chest Med. 1985 Mar;6(1):33–48. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Maartens G., Bateman E. D. Tuberculous pleural effusions: increased culture yield with bedside inoculation of pleural fluid and poor diagnostic value of adenosine deaminase. Thorax. 1991 Feb;46(2):96–99. doi: 10.1136/thx.46.2.96. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Maritz F. J., Malan C., Le Roux I. Adenosine deaminase estimations in the differentiation of pleural effusions. S Afr Med J. 1982 Oct 9;62(16):556–558. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Ocaña I., Martinez-Vazquez J. M., Segura R. M., Fernandez-De-Sevilla T., Capdevila J. A. Adenosine deaminase in pleural fluids. Test for diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion. Chest. 1983 Jul;84(1):51–53. doi: 10.1378/chest.84.1.51. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Sahn S. A. State of the art. The pleura. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1988 Jul;138(1):184–234. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/138.1.184. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. San José E., Valdés L., Sarandeses A., Alvarez D., Chomon B. Diagnostic value of adenosine deaminase and lysozyme in tuberculous pleurisy. Clin Chim Acta. 1992 Jul 31;209(1-2):73–81. doi: 10.1016/0009-8981(92)90335-n. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. San José E., Valdés L., Sarandeses A., Alvarez D., Chomon B. Diagnostic value of adenosine deaminase and lysozyme in tuberculous pleurisy. Clin Chim Acta. 1992 Jul 31;209(1-2):73–81. doi: 10.1016/0009-8981(92)90335-n. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Strankinga W. F., Nauta J. J., Straub J. P., Stam J. Adenosine deaminase activity in tuberculous pleural effusions: a diagnostic test. Tubercle. 1987 Jun;68(2):137–140. doi: 10.1016/0041-3879(87)90029-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Valdés L., San José E., Alvarez D., Sarandeses A., Pose A., Chomón B., Alvarez-Dobaño J. M., Salgueiro M., Rodríguez Suárez J. R. Diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy using the biologic parameters adenosine deaminase, lysozyme, and interferon gamma. Chest. 1993 Feb;103(2):458–465. doi: 10.1378/chest.103.2.458. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Van der Weyden M. B., Kelley W. N. Human adenosine deaminase. Distribution and properties. J Biol Chem. 1976 Sep 25;251(18):5448–5456. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Yam L. T. Diagnostic significance of lymphocytes in pleural effusions. Ann Intern Med. 1967 May;66(5):972–982. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-66-5-972. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. de Wit D., Maartens G., Steyn L. A comparative study of the polymerase chain reaction and conventional procedures for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion. Tuber Lung Dis. 1992 Oct;73(5):262–267. doi: 10.1016/0962-8479(92)90130-C. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. van Keimpema A. R., Slaats E. H., Wagenaar J. P. Adenosine deaminase activity, not diagnostic for tuberculous pleurisy. Eur J Respir Dis. 1987 Jul;71(1):15–18. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Thorax are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES