Serum adenosine deaminase activity and the total antioxidant capacity of plasma in pulmonary tuberculosis and non-tuberculosis pulmonary disease

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the level of serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) and the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), non-tuberculosis pulmonary disease (non-PTB) and healthy subjects. Materials and methods: Serum ADA activity was measured using the Giusti and Galanti method, and the total antioxidant capacity of plasma was determined by the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) test. Results: The serum ADA levels were significantly higher (P 0.001) in pulmonary TB (PTB, 19.78 ± 7.09 U/L), as wellas in non-PTB patients (14.78 ± 4.65 U/L) when compared to healthy controls (10.02 ± 1.99 U/L). The sensitivity and specificity were found to be 71.7% and 63.3%, respectively, in distinguishing PTB from non-PTB. In distinguishing PTB from healthy subjects, the sensitivity and specificity were 87% and 93.3%, respectively. The TAC was significantly lowerin PTB (485.2 ± 190.0 µM) and non-PTB patients (588.3 ± 195.8 µM), when compared to the controls (784.3 ± 190.0 µM;P 0.001). Plasma antioxidative activity decreased in PTB and non-PTB patients when compared to the controls.Conclusion: We concluded that serum ADA activity is not a useful test to differentiate pulmonary TB from other respiratory diseases. The TAC is low in pulmonary TB, therefore supplementation with a suitable anti-oxidant may be useful.