Fig 3. Pulmonary TB patients remaining with culture positive after 60 days of ATT displayed heightened levels of serum ferritin than those who had negative cultures.

(A) Changes in hemoglobin levels following initiation of ATT are shown. (B) Hemoglobin levels upon ATT initiation in TB patients whose sputum cultures became negative at day 60 of ATT and in those who remained culture positive. (C) Serum concentrations of CRP and ferritin were compared between the indicated timepoints of ATT in the group of TB patients whose sputum cultures became negative at day 60 of ATT and in that of patients who remained culture positive. In (A), (B) and (C), data were compared using Kruskal Wallis test with non-parametric linear trend ad hoc test or Dunn’s multiple comparisons (for CRP). Statistically significant differences are highlighted. (D) CRP and Ferritin levels were compared between individuals with culture negative and those with culture positive at day 60 of ATT using the Mann-Whitney U test. (E) Performance of each marker in identifying patients who had positive cultures at day 60 of ATT was tested using Receiver Operator Characteristics (ROC) curve analysis.