Apoptosis of circulating neutrophils and alveolar macrophages in COPD.

vs interferon (IFN)showed that IFNis superior to ADA, although the difference is small. Therefore, establishing a diagnosis of tuberculosis pleuritis based only on pleural fluid ADA without pleural biopsy findings is still controversial.6 We do not intend to deny the usefulness of pleural fluid ADA for diagnosing tuberculosis pleuritis. Furthermore, we do not insist that pleural fluid INFcan replace pleural fluid ADA, or that pleural fluid INFshould be measured instead of measuring pleural fluid ADA for diagnosing tuberculous pleuritis. We would like to emphasize the usefulness of the measurement of pleural fluid INFin addition to pleural fluid ADA, especially in low-incidence populations in developed countries, including Japan, because the measurement of IFNis a relatively high-cost test, but has no associated complications.