title: Lysozyme levels for the diagnosis of tuberculous effusions in children.
abstract: Lysozyme level was measured in the fluid and serum of 42 tuberculous (25 pleural, 11 ascites and 6 pericardial) and 29 non-tuberculous (5 malignant, 9 empyema thoracis, 10 transudative ascites and 5 pyopericardium) effusions. The mean fluid lysozyme level was significantly raised in tuberculous pleural, ascites, and pericardial effusions in comparison to malignant pleural (p <0.001), transudative ascites (p < 0.001), and pyopericardium (p < 0.02) cases, respectively. The mean fluid/serum lysozyme ratio did not differ significantly between tuberculous and their corresponding non-tuberculous effusions. The confirmed tuberculous pleural effusion patients had significantly higher mean fluid lysozyme level and fluid/serum lysozyme ratio when compared with clinical cases (p < 0.05). The cut-off fluid lysozyme level of > or = 50/UI(-1) and fluid/serum lysozyme ratio of > or = 1.1 were considered for the diagnosis of tuberculous effusions; the sensitivity and specificity of fluid lysozyme and fluid/serum lysozyme ratios were 100, 100 per cent, and 97.6, 33.3 per cent, respectively, on excluding the patients with purulent effusions. A significant correlation was observed between the fluid and serum lysozyme levels in tuberculous effusions (r = 0.39,p < 0.01). Thus, fluid lysozyme was found to be a better and reliable test than fluid/serum lysozyme ratio for the diagnosis of tuberculous effusions in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.
authors.forename: O P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yusuf
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nath
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001202:Ascitic Fluid / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000382:microbiology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009113:Muramidase / Q000378:metabolism*; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000382:microbiology; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000382:microbiology; D012016:Reference Values; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D009113:Muramidase