• Xuemei Li, Weidong Zhao, Hong Han, Zhi Yang, Fengqing Bi, and Yingchun He.
• From the Department of Clinical Laboratory (Li, Han, Yang, Bi, He), First Affiliated Hospital of Dali University; from the Department of Clinical Laboratory (Zhao), School of Clinical Medicine, Dali University, Dali, Yunnan, China; and from the Department of Clinical Laboratory (Zhao), Second Infectious Disease Hospital of Yunnan Province, Dali, Yunnan, China.
• Saudi Med J. 2024 Jul 1; 45 (7): 658666658-666.

ObjectivesTo evaluate cytokine profiles and interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) for their diagnostic capabilities in the differentiation of tuberculosis (TB) from non-TB conditions, as well as smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis (SNPT) from smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (SPPT).MethodsA total of 125 participants were included, 77 of whom had TB and 48 who didn't, and demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected, including cytokine levels and IGRA results. The TB patients were further divided into 2 subgroups: SNPT (n=42) and SPPT (n=35).ResultsCompared to non-TB, the TB group had lower BMI, higher WBC, neutrophils, monocytes, ESR and CRP (p<0.05). TB patients showed higher IL-2, IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-8 (p<0.001) and higher IGRA positivity (88.3% versus [vs.] 29.2%, p<0.001). Between SNPT and SPPT, moderate effect sizes were observed for IFN-α, IL-2, IL-10, IL-8 (Cohen's d 0.59-0.76), with lower IGRA positivity in SNPT (81.0% vs. 97.1%, p=0.015). ROC analysis indicated IFN-α, IL-2, IL-10, IL-8 had moderate accuracy for SNPT diagnosis (AUCs 0.668-0.734), and combining these improved accuracy (AUC 0.759, 80% sensitivity, 64.2% specificity).ConclusionA multi-biomarker approach combining these cytokines demonstrates enhanced diagnostic accuracy for tuberculosis.Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal.

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