Pro-inflammatory mediators play an important role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary tuberculosis. Consecutively, 26 pulmonary tuberculosis patients were enrolled in our study based on the exclusion criteria. We have used Spearman’s correlation analysis, hierarchical clustering and regression modelling to evaluate the association of 11 biomarkers with culture status after antituberculosis treatment. The results of our study demonstrated that six inflammatory biomarkers of 11, C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils, interferon gamma inducible protein 10, C-reactive protein (CRP) to albumin ratio (CAR) and neutrophil to albumin ratio (NAR), were significantly associated with culture negativity. The predictive ability of a composite model of seven biomarkers was superior to that of any single biomarker based on area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis, indicating an excellent prediction efficacy (AUC:0.892; 95% CI:0.732-1.0). We also found that the highest significant trends and lower levels of CRP and IP-10 were observed in the two-month treated tuberculosis (TB) patients. We believe that our study may be valuable in providing preliminary results for an additional strategy in monitoring and management of the clinical outcome of pulmonary tuberculosis. Using a panel of predictors added a superior value in predicting culture status after anti-TB therapy.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the highest infectious burdens worldwide, and pathogenesis is yet incompletely elucidated. Bacilli dissemination is due to poor antioxidant defense mechanisms and intensified oxidative stress. There are few recent studies that analyzed and compared free radicals or antioxidant status before and after anti-TB treatment. Hence, the present study underlines the need to identify oxidative stress as it could be a useful tool in TB monitorisation. Thirty newly diagnosed patients with pulmonary TB were included after signing an informed consent. Blood was collected before receiving first-line anti-tubercular therapy (T0) and after 60 days (T2). Spectrophotometric methods were used to quantify oxidative parameters (TBARS—thiobarbituric acid reactive species); enzymatic antioxidants such as SOD (superoxide dismutase), CAT (catalase), GPx (glutathione peroxidase), and TAC (total antioxidant capacity); and non-enzymatic antioxidants such as GSH (reduced glutathione). A moderate positive correlation was found between GSH and TAC (r = 0.63, p-value = 0.046) and GSH and SOD (r = 0.64, p-value = 0.041) at T2. Increased values of GSH, CAT, and SOD were noted at T2 in comparison with T0, while GPx, TAC, and TBARS decreased at T2. A better monitorisation in TB could be based on oxidative stress and antioxidant status. Nevertheless, restoring redox host balance could reduce TB progression.