[Comparison of Bactec radiometric system and Lowenstein-Jensen medium for detection of mycobacterium tuberculosis and the susceptibility of isolates to antituberculosis drugs].
Tuberculosis is a chronic, durable but curable disease. Active cases are usually contagious and spread easily to the close intimates, especially in children causing catastrophic complications. Thereafter, early diagnosis and adequate treatment is critical for the control of the disease. Bactec 460 12B medium (Bactec system) provides a rapid, accurate and reliable method for the detection and differentiation of mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is better than the traditional method, Lowenstein-Jensen (L-J) medium. To prove this point, from Sept. 1990 to Jan. 1991, 341 specimens were sent to our laboratory for detection of mycobacterium tuberculosis. Each sample was cultured in both Bactec system and L-J medium. Meanwhile, each isolate was also cultured for the susceptibility to the antituberculosis drugs. In those 341 specimens, 45 samples were cultured as positive in either media. 43 samples were positive from Bactec system, the positive rate was 12.6% and the sensitivity rate was 95.6%. The positive cultures from L-J medium were 27 samples, the positive rate was 7.9% and the sensitivity rate was 60% (p less than 0.05). The positive culture duration in Bactec system was 5-33 days, the average was 13.05 days. But in L-J medium, it was 19-45 days and the average was 27.48 days (p less than 0.01). The susceptibility of the isolates to the common-use antituberculosis drugs was as follows: isoniazid, 47.8%; rifampin, 84.1%; ethambutol, 71%; streptomycin, 82.6%; (p less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Chiang
T M
TM
Department of Pediatrics and Laboratory, China Medical College Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D003470:Culture Media; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D011874:Radiometry; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D003470:Culture Media