Fig. 4

Biochemical profiles of pulmonary TB patients stratified by type and number of lung lesions. a Value of each parameter was Log10 transformed. Mean values for each indicated clinical group were z-score normalized and a hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward’s method with 100X bootstrap) was performed to illustrate the overall biochemical profiles. Fold differences (between the following groups: 3 types vs. < 3 types, and number ≥ 4 vs. number < 4) were calculated and statistically significant differences are highlighted in purple (positive) and red (negative). b Data represent median and interquartile ranges. The Mann-Whitney U test was employed to compare the values detected between the study subgroups. One type lesion: cavity (CV) or infiltrate (IN) or fibrous tract (FT); 2 lesion types: CV + IN or CV + FT or IN + FT; 3 lesion types: CV + IN + FT. Number of lung lesions ≥4: considering the total number of cavities + total number of infiltrates + total number of fibrous tracts. Only comparisons with significant p-values are displayed (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001).