[Adenosine deaminase activity and isozyme test for differentiation diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy].

Adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity and isozyme were studied on 78 patients with pleural fluid. ADA activity in pleural fluid was higher in 49 cases of tuberculosis than those in 29 cases of non-tuberculosis (P < 0.01). The ratio of pleural fluid to serum for ADA was greater than 1 in tuberculous pts, whereas less than 1 in non-tuberculosis pts (P < 0.01). ADA isozyme III was higher in tuberculosis than those in non-tuberculosis pts (P < 0.01). It was suggested that these indexes may be useful in differentiating tuberculous pleurisy from non-tuberculous pleurisy.