Akbulut H Handan, Celik Ilhami, Akbulut Ayhan, Yuce Pinar, Kiliç S Sirri
Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Firat University, 23119 Elazig, Turkey.
J Infect. 2005 Nov;51(4):281-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2004.10.015. Epub 2004 Nov 26.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of neopterin levels in brucellosis and its alterations with treatment.
Thirty patients who had positive clinical findings, Brucella standard tube agglutination tests and/or positive blood culture were included in the study. The control group was composed of 30 healthy subjects. Neopterin (NPT) levels were measured by ELISA according to the protocol of manufacturer.
Mean NPT levels were 54.15+/-33.7 nmol/l in study groups and 8.75+/-2.48 nmol/l in controls (P<0.001). It was determined that NPT levels measured at the time of admission of the patients had a linear correlation between the duration of complaint (r=0.560, P=0.001). While the mean NPT levels in patients with complaints of over 30 days were 79.07+/-34.9 nmol/l and it was 39.71+/-23.4 nmol/l in the patients with complaints of less than or equal to 30 days (P=0.002). NPT values measured after treatment (20.48+/-25.6) was determined lower by statistical means than the values measured before treatment (54.15+/-33.7, P=0.0001). The NPT levels of patients with positive blood culture (75.56+/-33.6) were higher than those of with negative blood cultures (32.72+/-15.2, P=0.001).
It was concluded that the NPT levels were higher in patients with brucellosis. In addition, it was found that the levels of NPT were higher in non-responding patients than responded to the brucellosis treatment. It was thought that monitoring NPT levels could be useful for the extent and activity of the disease.
本研究旨在评估新蝶呤水平在布鲁氏菌病中的重要性及其在治疗过程中的变化。
本研究纳入了30例临床检查结果阳性、布鲁氏菌标准试管凝集试验阳性和/或血培养阳性的患者。对照组由30名健康受试者组成。按照制造商的方案，采用酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）测定新蝶呤（NPT）水平。
研究组的平均NPT水平为54.15±33.7 nmol/l，对照组为8.75±2.48 nmol/l（P<0.001）。确定患者入院时测得的NPT水平与主诉持续时间之间存在线性相关性（r=0.560，P=0.001）。主诉超过30天的患者平均NPT水平为79.07±34.9 nmol/l，主诉小于或等于30天的患者为39.71±23.4 nmol/l（P=0.002）。治疗后测得的NPT值（20.48±25.6）经统计学方法确定低于治疗前测得的值（54.15±33.7，P=0.0001）。血培养阳性患者的NPT水平（75.56±33.6）高于血培养阴性患者（32.72±15.2，P=0.001）。
得出结论，布鲁氏菌病患者的NPT水平较高。此外，发现布鲁氏菌病治疗无反应的患者NPT水平高于有反应的患者。认为监测NPT水平可能对疾病的程度和活动情况有用。
