Middle molecules and tuberculosis activity in children and adolescents at the sanatorium stage of treatment

: Medium-weight molecules (MWM) were measured in the plasma of 67 children and adolescents aged 11 to 17 years who were infected with and suffered from various types of tuberculosis. The highest values of MWM were found in patients with tuberculous exudative pleuritis and infiltrative pulmonary tuberculosis. During treatment, there was a significant reduction in the mean levels of MWM in 20 follow-up patients. It is concluded that it is expedient to employ this test to detect insidious tuberculosis activity during sanatorium treatment and to use it as a criterion for therapeutical efficiency.