Plasma Glycoproteins in Pulmonary Tuberculosis

¹ The Veterans Administration Hospital, San Fernando, California; and the Departments of Infectious Diseases and Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California.

1. The plasma content of protein and the protein-bound carbohydrates was determined in 53 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis and 20 normal individuals. Their concentration was also determined in each of the four primary fractions of plasma isolated by the use of the low temperature-low salt-ethanol procedure of Lever.

2. The values of the total glycoprotein and seromucoid fractions were correlated with a number of clinical factors and were found to increase with the extent of the disease, the extent of cavitation, the degree of exudation, the roentgen estimate of activity, and the clinical estimate of activity. The increased values appear to be a manifestation of the systemic effect of the disease process.

3. The practical application of these chemical determinations is discussed and it is felt that they have a minor but definite place in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis or in estimating the degree of activity. However, their value in prognosis, in management of the disease, and in non-pulmonary tuberculous disease remains to be determined.