Table 1.
Characteristics of Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis (Cases) and Patients with Other Causes of Pulmonary Infections (Controls)
| Cases (n=35) | Controls (n=54) | |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical presentation | ||
| -Pulmonary tuberculosis | 35 | 0 |
| -Lobar community acquired pneumonia | 0 | 37 |
| -Acute exacerbation in COPD * | 0 | 8 |
| -Nosocomial pneumonia | 0 | 4 |
| -Interstitial community acquired pneumonia # | 0 | 4 |
| -Empyema | 0 | 1 |
| -Pleuropericarditis | 0 | 1 |
| Systemic disease | ||
| -HIV | 9 | 7 |
| -Vasculitis | 0 | 1 |
| -Collagen disease | 0 | 1 |
| -Steroid therapy | 1 | 2 |
| -Diabetes | 1 | 3 |
| Clinical picture | ||
| -Acute (< 2 weeks) | 9 | 26 |
| -Sub-acute | 32 | 22 |
| Pulmonary infiltrate | ||
| -Alveolar | 20 | 32 |
| -Interstitial | 1 | 11 |
| -Pleural effusion | 4 | 8 |
| -No infiltrate | 1 | 12 |
| Basal Ca-125 level (IU/ml) | ||
| -Mean (± DE) | 104.9 (± 136.1) | 27.1 (± 19.7) |
| -Median | 46 | 24 |
| -Range | 10-500 | 5-123 |
| Ca-125 level during therapy (2-4 month (IU/ml) | ||
| -Mean (± DE) | 59.5 (± 88.5) | |
| -Median | 31 | |
| -Range | 13-63 | |
*
COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
#
All three patients responded to clarithromycin and a probable atypical pneumonia diagnosis was established.