近年来，非艾滋病相关隐球菌性脑膜炎的临床诊治引起了极大关注，特别是我国非艾滋病相关隐球菌性脑膜炎的发病率呈明显上升趋势，总患病数是艾滋病相关隐球菌性脑膜炎的2倍，给隐球菌性脑膜炎的诊治带来了更大挑战。采用胶体金免疫层析法检测隐球菌荚膜多糖抗原，操作简便、快捷，具有较好的灵敏性和特异性，为临床早期诊断提供了可能。关于隐球菌性脑膜炎的治疗，中国经验与国际指南虽然存大同留小异，但在临床实践中如何积极合理治疗仍有许多值得探讨之处。

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of high-dose fluconazole alone or combined with flucytosine as initial therapy for cryptococcal meningitis(CM)in non-human immunodeficiency virus(HIV)-related patients.Methods Twenty-five non-HIV-infected patients with CM from June 2015 to September 20 18 in Huashan Hospital,Fudan University,who were initially treated with high-dose fluconazole with or without flucytosine for at least seven days were retrospectively reviewed.Clinical features and antifungal(600-800 mg/d)regimens were recorded,clinical responses and drug-related adverse events were evaluated.Mann-Whitney test and Fisher's exact probabilities test were applied to compare variables between groups.Results of the 25 patients enrolled in this study,15 had predisposing factors.Headache(25 cases),fever(21 cases),vomiting(13 cases)and neck stiffness(13 cases)were common manifestations.Abnormalities of cranial computed tomography(CT)scan and/or magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)were found in 22 cases.Nineteen patients were treated with high-dose fluconazole plus flucytosine for initial therapy,and six patients were treated with high-dose fluconazole alone.The course of initial regimens with high-dose fuconazole was 42(29,120)days.At the end of initial therapy,partial response in 20 patients,stable response in three patients and death in two patients were observed,and the overall effective rate was 80％(20/25).In treatment failure group of initial treatment,the proportion of patients with baseline cerebrospinal fuid opening pressure over 300 mmH2 O(1 mmH2O=0.009 8 kPa)and with altered mental status were both significantly higher compared with those in treatment Success group.Fluconazole related adverse drug events were observed including elevated transaminases(one case),gastrointestinal symptoms combined with hypokalemia(two cases),and systemic rash(three cases).Except for three patients with rash reduced the dosage of fluconazole.no other patients were given dosage adjustment.Conclusion High-dose fluconazole alone or combined with flucytosine is effective and safe for the initial therapy of non-HIV-related CM patients.

Aspirin could reduce the risk of cancer metastasis. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are a key factor of cancer metastasis, but no evidence has revealed how aspirin affects CTCs and its epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Here, we conducted a clinical trial to investigate how aspirin affects CTCs in metastatic colorectal cancer (MCC) and breast cancer patients (MBC).

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of T cells spot test of tuberculosis infection (T-SPOT .TB) on blood and cerebrospinal fluid for tuberculous meningitis (TBM ).Methods One hundred and fifteen adult patients with suspected tuberculous meningitis were retrospectively enrolled from March 2013 to March 2017 in Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University .Among them ,30 were diagnosed with TBM (7 definite ,19 highly probable and 4 possible) ,37 with other infectious meningitis and 29 with non-infectious meningitis .The diagnostic sensitivity ,specificity ,positive predictive values (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) of T-SPOT .TB on peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMC) and cerebrospinal fluid mononuclear cells (CSF-MC ) were analyzed using Fisher exact test , and the diagnostic performance was evaluated by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC ) curve and area under the curve (AUC).Results When including the 30 TBM cases and 66 non-TBM cases into analysis , the sensitivities and specificities , PPV and NPV of PBMC and CSF-MC for diagnosing TBM were as follows :93 .1% and 66 .7%,77% and 87 .7%,65 .9% and 71 .4%,95 .9% and 85 .1%,respectively . When including the 30 TBM and 37 other infectious meningitis into analysis , the sensitivities and specificities ,PPV and NPV of the PBMC and CSF-MC for diagnosing TBM were as follows :93 .1% and 66.7%,68 .6% and 86 .5%,71.1% and 80 .0%,92 .3% and 76 .2%,respectively .By ROC curve analysis ,the AUC of blood and CSF were 0 .882 (95% CI :0 .795－0 .969) and 0 .814 (95% CI :0 .704－0 .925) ,respectively .Using a cut-off value of 32 spot forming cells (SFC) per million CSF-MC for T-SPOT .TB on CSF-MC showed a sensitivity of 66 .7%,a specificity of 91 .9%,PPV of 87 .0% and NPV of 77 .3% .The positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio were 8 .22 and 0 .363 respectively . Conclusions T-SPOT .TB on CSF-MC has a role in diagnosing TBM .And 32 SFC per million CSF-MC might be the optimal cut-off value to differentiate TBM and non-TBM .

Background: There has been a great deal of evidence indicating that cytokines participate in meningeal inflammation. Different cytokine profiles may be presented in central nervous system (CNS) infection due to different pathogens. We have attempted to investigate cytokine profiles in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with CNS infection. Methods: Forty-three patients with CNS infection including tuberculous meningitis, purulent meningitis and cryptococcal meningitis were enrolled and 11 patients with normal CSF were enrolled as control group. The concentrations of Th1-, Th2- and Th17-type cytokines in CSF were detected using multiplex cytokine assay. Furthermore, the correlation between CSF cytokines and CSF parameters in CNS infection was analyzed. Results: The CSF levels of IL-1 beta, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IL-23, IL-33, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha and sCD40L among the patients with CNS infection were all higher than control group (all P < 0.05). A remarkable elevation of CSF IL-6 in the patients with CNS infection was observed with the least overlap of the CSF concentrations compared to controls. Moreover, CSF IL-6 levels were strongly negatively correlated with CSF glucose and the CSF/blood glucose ratio (r = -0.4375, P = 0.0042; r = -0.4991, P = 0.0009). Conclusions: The excessive activation of immune response characterized by elevated levels of CSF Th1-, Th2- and Th17-type cytokines has been observed during CNS infection. Furthermore, we observed negative correlations between CSF IL-6 levels and CSF glucose and CSF/blood glucose ratio in CNS infection. And we suggested that combined CSF IL-6 levels with CSF glucose may serve as a novel biomarker pool for the differential of CNS infection. Copyright (C) 2018, Taiwan Society of Microbiology. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC.

Objective To analyze the expressions of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) in the peripheral blood of patients with active tuberculosis (ATB ) or latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) ,and to evaluate its diagnostic value in differentiation of ATB and LTBI .Methods Forty-eight patients including 18 ATB cases and 30 LTBI cases were continuously enrolled from Wuxi No . 5 People′s Hospital and Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University from January 2011 to March 2013 .Flow cytometry was applied to detect the CTLA-4 expression in CD4+CD25+ FoxP3+ T cells in the peripheral blood of the 48 subjects .CTLA-4 levels were compared using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test .Results The median percentage of CTLA-4+ Treg in CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ Treg cells of ATB patients was 18 .95％ (quantile range :13 .86％ ,27 .73％ ) ,and that in LTBI patients was 6 .67％(quantile range :5 .74％ ,9 .59％ ) ,which was statistically significant (U=18 .0 , P< 0 .01) .Receiver operating curve (ROC) based on the CTLA-4 expression indicated that the area under the curve was 0 .96 , with the optimum cut-off value of 13 .25％ .Thus ,the sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of ATB were 86 .7％ and 94 .4％ ,respectively .Conclusion CTLA-4 has highly sensitivity and specificity for the differential diagnosis of ATB and LTBI whose interferon-gamma releasing assays are all positive ,which may also provide meaningful clue for the study of pathogenesis of ATB .

AIM To investigate Chinese physicians' awareness of the 2010 guidelines on the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. METHODS This was a quantitative survey that investigated the characteristics and practices of physicians who were treating patients with hepatitis B, the profile of their patients and physician practices regarding the diagnosis and treatment of HBV at the time of the survey. Participants were randomly selected from available databases of Chinese physicians and requested to complete either an online or paper-based survey. Data from the survey responses were analysed. For data validation and interpretation, qualitative indepth interviews were conducted with 39 of the respondents. RESULTS Five-hundred completed surveys, from 663 physicians were available for analysis. A mean of 175 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients was seen by each physician every month, of whom 85 (49%) were treated in line with therapeutic indications stated in the 2010 guidelines. A total of 444 (89%) physicians often (> 60% of the time) adhered to the guidelines. Most physicians used antiviral medications as recommended. For patients with compensated and decompensated cirrhosis, 342 (68%) and 336 (67%) of physicians, respectively, often followed the recommendation to use potent nucleos(t)ide analogues with a high genetic barrier to resistance, using the appropriate treatment more than 60% of the time. Physicians from infectious disease or liver disease departments were better informed than those from gastrointestinal or other departments. CONCLUSION The majority of Chinese physicians often adhere to Chinese 2010 CHB guidelines and are well-informed about the use of antiviral medications for hepatitis B.

AIM:To compare the histological outcome of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients treated with entecavir (ETV) or lamivudine (LAM)-based therapy.METHODS:We conducted a retrospective analysis of data from 42 CHB patients with advanced fibrosis (baseline Ishak score ≥ 2) or cirrhosis who were treated with ETV or LAM-based therapy in Beilun People's Hospital, Ningbo between January 2005 and May 2012. The patients enrolled were more than 16 years of age and underwent a minimum of 12 mo of antiviral therapy. We collected data on the baseline characteristics of each patient and obtained paired liver biopsies pre- and post-treatment. The Knodell scoring system and Ishak fibrosis scores were used to evaluate each example. An improvement or worsening of necroinflammation was defined as ≥ 2-point change in the Knodell inflammatory score. The progression or regression of fibrosis was defined as ≥ 1-point change in the Ishak fibrosis score. The continuous variables were compared using t-test or Mann-Whitney test, and the binary variables were compared using χ(2) test or Fisher's exact test. The results of paired liver biopsies were compared with a Wilcoxon signed rank test.RESULTS:Nineteen patients were treated with ETV and 23 patients were treated with LAM therapy for a mean duration of 39 and 42 mo, respectively. After long-term antiviral treatment, 94.74% (18/19) of the patients in the ETV arm and 95.65% (22/23) in the LAM arm achieved an HBV DNA level less than 1000 IU/mL. The majority of the patients (94.74% in the ETV arm and 73.91% in the LAM arm) had normalized ALT levels. The median Knodell necroinflammatory score decreased from 11 to 0 in the patients receiving ETV, and the median Knodell score decreased from 9 to 3 in the patients receiving LAM (P = 0.0002 and < 0.0001, respectively). The median Ishak fibrosis score showed a 1-point reduction in ETV-treated patients and a 2-point reduction in LAM-treated patients (P = 0.0019 and 0.0205, respectively). The patients receiving ETV showed a more significant improvement in necroinflammation than the LAM-treated patients (P = 0.0003). However, there was no significant difference in fibrotic improvement between the two arms. Furthermore, two patients in each arm achieved a fibrosis score of 0 post-treatment, which indicates a full reversion of fibrosis after antiviral therapy.CONCLUSION:CHB patients with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis benefit from antiviral treatment. ETV is superior to LAM therapy in improving necroinflammatory but not fibrotic outcome.

Background: The immune responses of T cell subsets among patients with different Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infection statuses [i.e., active tuberculosis (ATB), latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and non-infection (healthy control, HC)] have not been fully elucidated in HIV-negative individuals. Specifically, data are limiting in high tuberculosis epidemic regions in China. To investigate the distributions and functions of T cell subsets (i.e., CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ alpha beta and V gamma 2V delta 2+ T cells) in HIV-negative subjects with different M.tb infection statuses, we conducted a case-control study that enrolled 125 participants, including ATB patients (n = 46), LTBI subjects (n = 34), and HC (n = 45).Results: An IFN-gamma release assay (IGRA) was employed to screen LTBI subjects. Whole blood cell surface staining and flow cytometry were used to detect phenotypic distributions of T cells in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and tuberculous pleural fluid mononuclear cells (PFMCs). PPD and the phosphorylated antigen HMBPP were employed as stimulators for the detection of M.tb antigenspecific T cell functions via intracellular cytokine staining (ICS). The absolute numbers of T cell subsets, including CD3+ CD4+, CD3+ CD8+ alpha beta and V gamma 2V delta 2+ T cells, were significantly reduced in active tuberculosis compared with latent tuberculosis or the healthy controls. Importantly, PPD-specific CD3+ CD4+ and CD3+ CD8+ alpha beta T cells and HMBPP-specific V gamma 2V delta 2+ T cells in ATB patients were also significantly reduced compared to the LTBI/HC subjects (P < 0.05). In contrast, the proportion of CD4+ T cells in PFMCs was higher compared to PBMCs, while CD8+ and V gamma 2V delta 2+ T cells in PFMCs were lower compared to PBMCs (all P < 0.05). PPD-specific CD4+ T cells predominated among CD3+ T cells in PFMCs.Conclusions: Cellular immune responses are impaired in ATB patients. Antigen-specific CD4+ T cell may migrate from the periphery to the lesion site, where they exert anti-tuberculosis functions. (c) 2015 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Objective To analyze the expression of interleukin (IL)-31 in tuberculous pleural effusion, and to evaluate its diagnostic value of tuberculous effusion. Methods Seventy-one patients with pleural effusion were enrolled, including 40 cases of tuberculous pleural effusion and 31 cases of malignant pleural effusion. Luminex method was applied to detect the IL-31 expression in pleural effusion. IL-31 levels were compared using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test, and the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was used to elvaluate the diagnostic value of IL-31. Results IL-31 expression in tuberculous pleural effusion was significantly higher than that in malignant pleural effusion with statistical significance (529.4 ng/L vs 13.8 ng/L, U=62, P<0.01). Based on the level of IL-31 expression, area under the ROC curve was 0.95 with the optimum cut-off value of 67.5 ng/L. Thus, the sensitivity and specificity of IL-31≥67.5 ng/L for diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy were 82.5% (95%CI: 73.3%-94.2%) and 100.0% (95%CI: 91.4%-100.0%), respectively. Conclusion IL-31 is highly sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion, which favors the differentiation of tuberculosis from malignance. Key words: Interleukin-31; Pleural effusion, malignant; Tuberculosis, pleural; Differential diagnosis

Objective To analyze the expression of interleukin (IL)-31 in tuberculous pleural effusion,and to evaluate its diagnostic value of tuberculous effusion.Methods Seventy-one patients with pleural effusion were enrolled,including 40 cases of tuberculous pleural effusion and 31 cases of malignant pleural effusion.Luminex method was applied to detect the IL-31 expression in pleural effusion.IL-31 levels were compared using non-parametric Mann-WhitneyU test,and the receiver operator characteristic (ROC)curve was used to elvaluate the diagnostic value of IL-31 .Results IL-31 expression in tuberculous pleural effusion was significantly higher than that in malignant pleural effusion with statistical significance (529.4 ng/L vs 13.8 ng/L,U =62,P <0.01 ).Based on the level of IL-31 expression,area under the ROC curve was 0.95 with the optimum cut-off value of 67.5 ng/L.Thus,the sensitivity and specificity of IL-31 ≥67.5 ng/L for diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy were 82.5 % (95 %CI :73.3% - 94.2%)and 100.0% (95 %CI :91 .4%-100.0%),respectively.Conclusion IL-31 is highly sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion, which favors the differentiation of tuberculosis from malignance.

ABSTRACT The emergence and transmission of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) pose an increasing threat to global TB control. This study aimed to identify the patterns of evolution and transmission dynamics of XDR-TB in populations in a region of China where TB is highly endemic. We analyzed a total of 95 XDR-TB isolates collected from 2003 to 2009 in Chongqing, China. Eight drug resistance genes covering 7 drugs that define XDR-TB were amplified by PCR followed by DNA sequencing. Variable-number tandem repeat 16-locus (VNTR-16) genotyping and genotypic drug resistance profiles were used to determine the evolution or transmission patterns of XDR-TB strains. Our results indicated that the Beijing genotype was predominant (85/95 [89.5%]) in XDR-TB strains, and as many as 40.0% (38/95) of the isolates were distributed into 6 clusters based on VNTR-16 genotyping and drug resistance mutation profiles. All isolates of each cluster harbored as many as six identical resistance mutations in the drug resistance genes rpoB, katG, inhA promoter, embB, rpsL, and gidB. Among the nine cases with continuous isolates from multidrug-resistant (MDR) to XDR-TB, 4 cases represented acquired drug resistance, 4 cases were caused by transmission, and 1 case was due to exogenous superinfection. The XDR-TB epidemic in China is mainly caused by a high degree of clonal transmission, but evolution from MDR to XDR and even superinfection with a new XDR strain can also occur.

Limited research has been conducted on healthcare-associated infective endocarditis (HAIE), although it is of increasing importance. The aim of this study is to compare the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and prognosis of community-acquired IE (CA-IE) with HAIE and non-nosocomial healthcare-associated IE (NNHCA-IE). A retrospective, consecutive case-series analysis was organized and performed during the 20-year study period in Huashan Hospital, Shanghai, China. A total of 154 patients were enrolled, including 126 (81.8%) who had CA-IE and 28 (18.2%) who had HAIE, among whom 20 (71.4%) had non-nosocomial IE. Patients with HAIE compared to patients with CA-IE had poorer clinical conditions (Charlson comorbidity index >= 2: 35.7% vs. 15.1%, P = 0.012; immunosuppressive therapy: 21.4% vs. 4.0%, P = 0.005), underwent more prosthetic valve replacement (35.7% vs. 7.1%, P < 0.001), had less streptococcus infection (16.7% vs. 51.1%, P = 0.007) but more atypical bacterial infection (50.0% vs. 21.1%, P = 0.017) and poorer outcomes (17.9% vs. 4.0%, P = 0.019). It is noteworthy that the results were quite similar between the comparison of patients with NNHCA-IE and those with CA-IE. Overall, in-hospital mortality was 6.5%. The IE acquisition site and low serum albumin levels (odds ratio (OR): 0.8; P = 0.04) were significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality. Nosocomial IE patients had an 8.3-fold and NNHCA-IE patients had 6.5-fold increase in the risk of mortality compared to CA-IE patients. In conclusion, HAIE and NNHCA-IE have important epidemiological and prognostic implications. Because NNHCA-IE usually occurs in patients residing in the community, it is suggested that these patients should be identified and treated by the community primary care clinical staff as early as possible.

BACKGROUND:Multilocus PCR coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (PCR/ESI-MS) is a new strategy for pathogen identification, but information about its application in fungal identification remains sparse.METHODS:One-hundred and twelve strains and isolates of clinically important fungi and Prototheca species were subjected to both rRNA gene sequencing and PCR/ESI-MS. Three regions of the rRNA gene were used as targets for sequencing: the 5' end of the large subunit rRNA gene (D1/D2 region), and the internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2 (ITS1 and ITS2 regions). Microbial identification (Micro ID), acquired by combining results of phenotypic methods and rRNA gene sequencing, was used to evaluate the results of PCR/ESI-MS.RESULTS:For identification of yeasts and filamentous fungi, combined sequencing of the three regions had the best performance (species-level identification rate of 93.8% and 81.8% respectively). The highest species-level identification rate was achieved by sequencing of D1/D2 for yeasts (92.2%) and ITS2 for filamentous fungi (75.8%). The two Prototheca species could be identified to species level by D1/D2 sequencing but not by ITS1 or ITS2. For the 102 strains and isolates within the coverage of PCR/ESI-MS identification, 87.3% (89/102) achieved species-level identification, 100% (89/89) of which were concordant to Micro ID on species/complex level. The species-level identification rates for yeasts and filamentous fungi were 93.9% (62/66) and 75% (27/36) respectively.CONCLUSIONS:rRNA gene sequencing provides accurate identification information, with the best results obtained by a combination of ITS1, ITS2 and D1/D2 sequencing. Our preliminary data indicated that PCR/ESI-MS method also provides a rapid and accurate identification for many clinical relevant fungi.

患者女,54岁,福建宁德人,从事海带加工业,因间歇发热、进行性消瘦并嗜酸粒细胞升高2个月余入院.2013年7月始无明显诱因出现发热,稍畏寒,在多家医院就诊均发现外周血嗜酸粒细胞比例明显升高(0.20～0.46),骨髓检查亦提示嗜酸粒细胞比例增高;肝脏CT增强扫描示肝内多发占位灶;住院期间曾行抗感染和糖皮质激素治疗,仍间歇发热,且热型不规则,最高至39.6℃.因发现血吸虫抗体弱阳性,粪便检查示人芽囊原虫阳性,9月17日以嗜酸粒细胞增多症收入复旦大学附属华山医院感染科.患者既往有糖尿病和十二指肠球部溃疡(S2)史,患病以来精神差、睡眠欠佳,早期有间断腹泻、腹痛,近1个月大便2～3次/d,干结,近3个月体质量下降10kg.入院体格检查:体温37.8 ℃,脉搏95次/min,呼吸20次/min,血压t15/75 mmHg(1 mmHg=0.133 kPa),神清,消瘦,对答切题;浅表淋巴结未触及肿大;心肺听诊无异常;腹平软,全腹无压痛、反跳痛,肝、脾肋下未及,未触及异常包块,肝区叩击痛明显,Murphy征阴性,移动性浊音阴性,双下肢无水肿,病理征未引出.

Map application has played a more and more important role in today's autonomous drive and navigation techniques. However, most of the existing maps can only reach road-level (meter scale) accuracy, which cannot meet the needs of driving with no hands. Based on this situation, a method to generate lane-level (centimeter scale) orthophoto maps is proposed. This method utilizes a multiple onboard cameras capture scheme to capture images of the road surfaces that the vehicle have passed through. After that, camera calibration and joint calibration are done to integrate all these road surface images into orthophoto images. To get lane-level orthophoto maps, the orthophoto images need to be projected to the given positions. The Mercator projection is employed to project GPS coordinates to pixel coordinates. The whole lane-level orthophoto map is divided into several local segments. In each local segment, all the orthophoto images belonging to this local segment are projected according to their pixel coordinates. Finally, for the convenience of map management and release, all the map segments are put together and displayed in the layered map form. Experimental results show that the proposed method can generate a promising lane-level orthophoto map, which verifies the effectiveness of such an approach.

目的 分析成人噬血细胞性淋巴组织细胞增生症(hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis,HLH)的临床特征,探讨影响其预后的危险因素.方法 回顾性研究复旦大学附属华山医院2006-01～2012-05收治的41例HLH患者临床、实验室检查等资料,采用多因素分析法对预后相关危险因素进行研究.结果 发热、关节肌肉症状、肝脾大是HLH最为常见的临床特征,皮疹、腹泻则相对少见;而实验室检查方面最具特征性的表现为全血细胞减少、高甘油三酯血症、低纤维蛋白原血症、铁蛋白显著升高,以及骨髓噬血细胞现象;多浆膜腔积液、伴发感染和低血小板计数是HLH预后不良的独立危险因素,其中血小板计数<5×109/L是最强危险因素(OR=71.5,95%CI=2.48～2061).结论 成人HLH病情严重,预后凶险,病死率极高,多浆膜腔积液、伴发感染和低血小板计数(<5×109/L)是影响其预后的主要因素.

To compare the clinical features of patients with tuberculous meningitis (TBM) and bacterial meningitis (BM) and to validate Thwaites' diagnostic scoring system for the differential diagnosis of TBM and BM, a retrospective review of 211 patients with TBM or BM who were admitted to Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, from 2007 to 2012 was conducted. The clinical characteristics and laboratory data were compared, and Thwaites' diagnostic scores were assessed at the time of admission for the differential diagnosis of TBM and BM. Significant differences were observed between the 2 groups in general information, clinical features, and cerebrospinal fluid characteristics. The sensitivity and specificity of Thwaites' diagnostic scoring system for the differential diagnosis of TBM and BM were found to be 98.2% and 43.6%, respectively, with positive and negative predictive values being 65.9% and 95.8%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity for the differential diagnosis of TBM and initially treated BM were 98.2% and 82.9%, respectively, but were only 98.2% and 24.2% for that of TBM and partially treated BM, respectively. Thus, Thwaites' diagnostic scoring system was found to be highly effective for the differential diagnosis of TBM and initially treated BM but was found to be less effective for that of TBM and partially treated BM.

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic power of combined whole blood interferon-γrelease assay QuantiFERON-TB Gold In Tube (QFT-GIT) and pleural biopsy in tuberculous pleural effusion in China.Methods The whole blood interferon-γ release assay were measured by QFT-GIT test in 45 pleural tuberculosis patients and 34 non-tuberculous pleurisy controls. Among them, 27 patients received thoracoscopy and pleural biopsy.Results The positive rates of QFT-GIT in patients with tuberculous pleurisy and non-tuberculous pleurisy were 91.1% (41/45) and 26.5% (9/34), respectively. The sensitivity, speciifcity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of QFT-GIT were 91.1% (41/45), 73.5%(25/34), 82.0% and 89.3%, respectively. The pleural biopsy assay applied to tuberculous pleurisy had 96.3%sensitivity and 100.0% speciifcity. Furthermore, combined QFT-GIT and pleural biopsy detection improved the speciifcity to 95.5% (42/44) with the sensitivity up to 94.1% (32/34).Conclusion The combination of immunoassay and biopsy has a promising prospect in the clinical practice of tuberculous pleurisy.