Learn about the Adenosine deaminase test

Adenosine Deaminase test is a common test that supports the diagnosis of problems in the lungs such as pleural effusion, tuberculosis... So does the Adenosine Deaminase test give accurate results?

Adenosine Deaminase (ADA) is a protein produced by cells throughout the body and is often involved in the activation of lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) that play many key roles in the immune response. for infection.
Certain factors that activate the immune system, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (the bacteria that cause tuberculosis), can increase ADA production in the area where the bacteria are present. Based on this basis, the Adenosine Deaminase test is used to measure the amount of ADA present in the pleural fluid, thereby diagnosing pleural tuberculosis infection.

Pleural is a membrane that covers the chest cavity and the left side of each lung. Small amounts of pleural fluid are regularly produced to smooth lung movements. However, if there are some disadvantages such as infection, it will cause pleurisy, leading to excessive accumulation of pleural fluid (pleural effusion).
This phenomenon can make it difficult to detect Mycobacterium in pleural fluid because of the presence of large volumes of fluid. At this point, the ADA test can assist in finding these bacteria even when they are present in small numbers.
Therefore, although not a specific test and not a substitute for culture in the diagnosis of pulmonary TB, the Adenosine Deaminase test is still used as an adjunct to determine whether TB is the cause. cause symptoms of chest pain, chronic cough, shortness of breath... of the patient or not.

ADA test may be ordered by doctors when a patient has signs of fluid accumulation in the chest cavity (pleural fluid) and has some signs of pulmonary tuberculosis such as:
Chronic cough, sometimes coughing up bloody sputum. Fever, chills. Sweat . Uncontrolled weight loss. Chest pain. In addition, this test is also required as a type of exclusion test (if assuming the patient has TB), especially for individuals in high-risk groups such as:
People in close contact with Subjects with TB infection have shown symptoms. Immigrants from areas of the world have high rates of tuberculosis. Children under 5 years of age with a positive TB screening test result. People who work completely or partially with groups with high rates of infection, such as the homeless, drug users, people in nursing homes... People with weakened immune systems such as: HIV/AIDS patients, people with some chronic diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease...), organ transplant patients, people taking immunosuppressive drugs, pregnant women, the elderly...

In addition, the Adenosine Deaminase test is ordered by doctors when they want to determine a person's likelihood of having TB, before other tests, to start treatment.

After the test, to determine the status of the individual, it is necessary to understand the meaning of the results in the ADA - Test. If the amount of Adenosine Deaminase (ADA) is markedly increased in the pleural fluid in people with signs/symptoms of TB:
If the geographic area in which the patient lives has a high prevalence of TB, it is likely that those who This is a M.tuberculosis infection in the pleura. If the prevalence of TB is low in the region, the outcome is uncertain, it is possible that the person has TB or that ADA is elevated for another reason (eg, cancer – especially lymphoma, pulmonary embolism, lupus, sarcoid...) If the amount of ADA is low, the patient is completely unlikely to have intrapleural tuberculosis. However, this does not rule out infections on other parts of the body.
In addition, when detecting a markedly elevated concentration of ADA in the fluids of other parts of the body, such as peritoneal fluid, meningococcal fluid, etc., it is likely that tuberculosis also occurs in those areas. this area (less common).

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Reference: labtestsonline.org
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