Serum enolase‑2, high‑sensitivity C‑reactive protein, and serum cholesterol in smear‑positive drug‑naïve pulmonary tuberculosis

Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The present study determined the serum human enolase‑2 (ENO‑2), high‑sensitive C‑reactive protein (hs‑CRP), and serum cholesterol levels as biological marker of disease activity and treatment response in smear‑positive drug‑naïve PTB. Materials and Methods: This case–control study was done in the Department of Medicine, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), Jamshoro/Hyderabad, Sindh, from January 2015 to April 2016. Thirty‑five sputum smear‑positive drug‑naïve PTB patients and thirty controls were studied. MTB culture and drug sensitivity were performed at the Diagnostic and Research Laboratory of LUMHS. Serum ENO‑2, hs‑CRP, and serum cholesterol were estimated at baseline, 3rd and 6th month of antituberculosis (TB) therapy. Results: Serum ENO‑2 and hs‑CRP were found raised in PTB compared to controls and showed decrease of 13% and 21.55%, 19.6% and 31.5% at 3rd and 6th month, respectively (P = 0.0001). Serum ENO‑2 revealed positive correlation with hs‑CRP (r = 0.734, P = 0.0001), and serum cholesterol revealed negative correlation with ENO‑2 and hs‑CRP (r = −0.509, P = 0.0001) and (r = −0.566, P = 0.0001), respectively. Conclusion: The present study reports the baseline ENO‑2 and hs‑CRP were raised, and serum cholesterol was low in smear‑positive PTB patients and the ENO‑2 and hs‑CRP were reduced by anti‑TB drug therapy.