1991 Volume 66 Issue 8 Pages 525-530
We measured CAl25 levels of the sera and pleural effusions in both patients with tuberculous pleurisy (TB) and with benign non tuberculous pleurisy (non-TB). In all the TB patients, serum CAl25 levels were increased (78 to 370U/ml, mean±SD=167.3±96.8U/ml, n=8), and were significantly higher than those in non-TB patients (167.3±96.8U/ml v.s. 36.9±18.4U/ml, p<0.01). Neoplastic diseases or gynecological disorders were not found in these patients. On the other hand, either CAl25 or LDH levels of pleural effusions were not significantly different between these two groups. Although adenosine deaminase (ADA) levels in pleural effusions were also significantly higher in the TB patients (p<0.05), there were no correlation between serum CAl25 and ADA levels in pleural effusions. Serial measurement of serum CAl25 levels in the TB patients revealed that serum CAl25 levels were markedly decreased one to two months after anti-tuberculous therapy (172.6±103.3U/ml to 23.3±9.9U/ml, p<0.01). It is suggested that the measurement of serum CAl25 in patients with tuberculous pleurisy is useful as an indicator of disease activity.
