Clinical utility of lipoarabinomannan antibody in pleural fluid for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy

J Infect Chemother. 2005 Apr;11(2):81-3. doi: 10.1007/s10156-004-0366-7.

Abstract

We studied the clinical utility of the detection of lipoarabinomannan antibody, using MycoDot, in pleural fluid for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy. Nine patients with active tuberculous pleurisy, 1 patient with chronic tuberculous empyema, and 16 patients with nontuberculous pleural effusions were studied. The results were positive in 5 patients with tuberculous pleural disease. Sensitivity was 50% (5 of 10; including the 1 patient with chronic tuberculous empyema) and specificity was 93.8% (15 of 16). Detection of lipoarabinomannan antibody using MycoDot in pleural fluid is a specific diagnostic tool for tuberculous pleurisy; furthermore, this diagnostic method is simple, rapid, and cost-effective.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / analysis*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lipopolysaccharides / immunology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pleural Effusion / microbiology*
  • Tuberculosis, Pleural / diagnosis*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • lipoarabinomannan