ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the value of T-SPOT.TB test in diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy by comparing the T-SPOT.TB test, adenosine deaminase (ADA) of hydrothorax and tuberculosis antibody (TB-Ab). Methods 62 pleural effusion patients are included in the research , of which 32 cases have tuberculosis and 30 cases have no tuberculosis. All patients underwent T-SPOT.TB, pleural effusion ADA, and TB-Ab test. The results were compared with final clinical diagnosis for sensitivity and specificity evaluation. Results The sensitivity of T-SPOT.TB, ADA, TB-Ab were 90.6%, 71.9% and 62.5% respectively. The specificity of T-SPOT. TB, ADA, TB-Ab were 90.0%, 83.3% and 86.7% respectively. The sensitivity of T-SPOT.TB was the highest one among the three methods. The sensitivity of T-SPOT.TB has statistically significant difference compared with TB-Ab (P 0.05). Conclusions The T-SPOT.TB test had higher sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy , and had important reference value in early diagnosis of patients with tuberculous pleurisy. The T-SPOT.TB and TB-Ab combination examination had a complementary effect.