Acute phase proteins in tuberculous patients.

The serum concentrations of some acute phase proteins were determined on admission, during treatment, at the end of treatment and at 12 months after stopping treatment in 20 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Measurements were also made, on admission and at the end of treatment, in 19 patients with abdominal tuberculosis, and 11 children with tuberculous meningitis. All 20 patients with pulmonary TB had quiescent disease by the end of treatment and none had a bacteriological relapse during the follow-up period of 12 months. The response to treatment was considered favourable in 18 of the 19 patients with abdominal TB, and the CSF findings had returned to normal in 9 of 11 patients with TB meningitis. There was a significant decrease with treatment in the concentrations of C-reactive protein, ceruloplasmin, haptoglobin and alpha-1-acid glycoprotein in all 3 groups of patients. While there was an increase in the concentrations of transferrin in patients with pulmonary and abdominal TB, there was a significant decrease in those with TB meningitis; alpha 2-macroglobulin did not appear to function as an acute phase reactant in any of the 3 groups. Amalgamating the findings in all 3 groups of tuberculous patients, the proportions of patients with abnormal values on admission and at the end of treatment were 62% and 14% for C-reactive protein, 78% and 50% for ceruloplasmin, 86% and 26% for haptoglobin and 92% and 6% for alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, respectively.