The Effectiveness of Sputum PH Analysis in The Prediction of Response To Therapy in Patients With Pulmonary Tuberculosis
The Effectiveness of Sputum PH Analysis in The Prediction of Response To Therapy in Patients With Pulmonary Tuberculosis
Abstract
Purpose. The predictive factor of response to antituberculous therapy has not been fully elucidated.
Airway acidity has been thought to be a potential indicator of the bactericidal activity. Therefore,
we hypothesized that monitoring airway acidity by measuring sputum pH could predict response
to therapy.
Results. There were 39 patients who completed a 2-month intensive phase of isoniazid, rifampicin,
pyrazinamide, and ethambutol therapy followed by a 4-month continuation phase of isoniazid and
rifampicin. Although factors including age, cavitation, sputum grade, and use of an acid-
suppressant were associated with initial low sputum pH in univariate analysis, multivariate
analysis revealed that only age ≥61 years was a statistically important factor predicting low pH
value (p = 0.005). Further outcome analysis showed that initial low sputum pH before treatment
was the only factor significantly associated with shorter length of time to both sputum smear and
culture conversion (p = 0.034 and 0.019, respectively) independent of the effects of age, sputum
bacterial load, extent of lung lesion, and cavitation. Thus, initial low sputum pH indicated
favorable response to anti-tuberculosis therapy.
Reference: Masuda, M.,i Sato, M., Ishigatsubo,.(2014)The effectiveness of sputum pH analysis in the
prediction of response to therapy in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4671190/