Adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity has been helpful for the diagnosis of
tuberculous pleurisy. However, there are few studies about the role of ADA in the diagnosis and follow-up of
pulmonary tuberculosis. In our study, serum ADA activity was determined in order to investigate the role of the
enzyme in the diagnosis of
pulmonary tuberculosis and monitoring the efficiency of
therapy. The ADA activity was (mean +/- SD) 21.77 +/- 8.51 U/L in
pulmonary tuberculosis patients (n= 44), 6.24 +/- 3.25 U/L in old
tuberculosis patients (n= 24), 8.58 +/- 4.38 U/L in healthy control subjects (n= 20), whereas the mean for the patients with bronchial
cancer (n= 20) was 18.51 +/- 7.85 U/L. There was no statistical difference between the results of
pulmonary tuberculosis patients and the patients with bronchial
cancer. On the contrary, the result of these two group were significantly different from both old
tuberculosis patients and healthy control subjects (p< 0.001 for both). In 10
pulmonary tuberculosis patients, ADA activities were determined both before and
after treatment and a significant decrease was observed in ADA activities
after treatment (p< 0.001). In conclusion, serum ADA activity is increased in
pulmonary tuberculosis patients, therefore it may be a helpful parameter for monitoring
therapy.