The glutaraldehyde test as a rapid screening method for pulmonary tuberculosis: a preliminary report.
When equal parts of EDTA-blood and 2.5% glutaraldehyde solution were mixed, a shorter gelification time was observed in blood from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis--diagnosed by clinical and X-ray examination--than in blood from patients with other respiratory diseases or with non-respiratory diseases, or from healthy volunteers. Of a total of 539 persons tested, 267 had pulmonary tuberculosis as judged by clinical and X-ray examination and 238 of these reacted positively to the glutaraldehyde test with a gelification time of less than 10 minutes. When clinical examination and X-ray evaluation are used as bases for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, the glutaraldehyde test gives a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 95%. It is suggested that this simple and cheap method, together with clinical examination, might be a useful screening tool for identifying cases of pulmonary tuberculosis in peripheral health posts in developing countries where X-ray and other facilities are lacking.
Larsson
S
S
Department of Community Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Shrestha
M P
MP
Pokhrel
B M
BM
Upadhyay
M P
MP
Shrestha
K B
KB
D000447:Aldehydes; D001777:Blood Coagulation; D005976:Glutaral; D006801:Humans; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011859:Radiography; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
D000447:Aldehydes; D005976:Glutaral