Combined use of polymerase chain reaction, interferon- gamma and soluble IL-2 receptor for differential diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives: Rapid and early differential diagnosis between tuberculous and nontuberculous pleural effusion [TPE and NTPE] is a critically important clinical problem. The paucibacillary nature of TPE and inefficiency of conventional biochemical and microbiological investigations challenge the application of more comprehensive markers. In this study we evaluated the relevance of applying polymerase chain reaction [PCR], for detection of Mycobacteria Tuberculosis- DNA [TB-DNA], in association with interferon gamma [IFN-gamma] and soluble IL-2 receptor [sIL-2R] levels in pleural fluid for differential diagnosis of TPE