ACTA FAC MED NAISS 2014;31(3):183-191

Original article

UDC:616.24-002.5-074-08:577.1

DOI:10.2478/afmnai-2014-0023

 

Acute-Phase Inflammatory Response in Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis

 

Milan Radović1,2, Tatjana Pejčić1,2, Ivana Stanković1,2, Lidija Ristić1,2, Milan Rančić1,2, Zorica Ćirić1,2

1Clinic for Pulmonary Diseases «Knez Selo», Clinical Center Niš, Serbia

2University of Niš, Faculty of Medicine, Serbia


SUMMARY

The main issue in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) represents the impossibility of the host immune response to express bactericidal function and the sterilization of lesions depends exclusively on the specific antimicrobial chemotherapy. In order to investigate the value of acute-phase inflammatory response markers in patients with newly confirmed extensive PTB, there was designed a clinical study with 80 patients, of whom 40 had active disease (experimental group), while other 40 had inactive sequellar disease without comorbidity (control group). The examined groups were homogenous with respect to the patient’s general demographic characteristics. In the experimental group, 20.0% of the patients had an initial bacterial infection of the lower respiratory tract, while their average value of acute-phase systemic inflammatory markers was initially, before the antituberculosis treatment, significantly elevated compared to the control group. At the end of the treatment, values of erythrocyte sedimentation rate in the first hour (SE) and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) significantly decreased (SE-p <0.001, CRP-p<0.001), together with the value of the leukocyte count (Le) and serum fibrinogen (Le-p<0.001, fibrinogen-p<0.001). Multivariate linear regression analysis proved a significant correlation between baseline serum fibrinogen level with positive history of contact with active TB patient and initial radiological extent of PTB lung lesions. The values of the acute-phase inflammatory response markers in active PTB have its clinical significance in the assessment of unfavourable course of disease in extensive disseminated form of PTB as well as in the occurrence of complications associated with low respiratory tract bacterial superinfection.

 

Key words: tuberculosis, inflammation, fibrinogen