Serum antibody responses during treatment in tuberculosis patients from Henan, China

To investigate antibody responses during treatment in tuberculosis patients from Henan Province, China. Forty-five smear-positive pulmonary tubercul osis patients, 43 smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis patients , 43 extra pulmonary tubercul osis patients were enrolled to collect blood sample s at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 24 weeks during tuberculosis treatment, totally 7 time points. Twenty-three heal thy controls were enrolled to collect blood samples onl y once. Sera were applied to analyze TB IgG antibody by ELISA kit made in China. The basic lev els of antibodies at 0 week in tuberculosis patient s were significantly higher than those in healthy peo ple. During treatment, the dynamic change of antibody was shown in different patterns. There was a significant decrease in antibody positivity with treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis patients. The present study signified that in resource-limited settings, antibody test may still be of some value in helping to diagnose tuberculosis and to monitor the treatment outcome.