title: Reduced anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis antibody response in tuberculosis patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
abstract: 1. When the sera of patients with tuberculosis were tested for anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis IgG using an indirect ELISA, the test was positive for 94.1% of the samples from patients not having AIDS (N = 51), but for only 37.5% of the samples from patients with AIDS (N = 16). 2. False-positive results were obtained for 7.3% of patients not infected with HIV (N = 96) and for 4.7% of patients infected with HIV (N = 64). 3. In most serum samples obtained from patients with tuberculosis and AIDS after the beginning of specific treatment there was a reduction of the ELISA absorbance at 490 nm with time. 4. These results indicate that serological tests for the detection of anti-M. tuberculosis IgG in patients with AIDS are of limited value for the diagnosis of tuberculosis, most likely as a consequence of the underlying immune defect of the patients.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Figueiredo
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Machado
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000328:Adult; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G