title: The detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in bone marrow aspirate using the polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: METHODS
  Tygerberg Hospital, South Africa.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Bone marrow aspirate and biopsy were obtained from 37 patients who were in-patients at the Tygerberg hospital. The specificity and sensitivity of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in bone marrow aspirate was evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  The PCR was compared to standard culture as well as to clinical and bone marrow biopsy data in 24 patients with suspected tuberculosis (TB).
  
  
  RESULTS
  12 of the 24 patients eventually had definite or probable TB and in these 12 patients the detection incidence was 42% for PCR and 25% for culture.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study confirms that it is possible to use PCR to detect M. tuberculosis in bone marrow aspirate material and that this technique is more sensitive than culture methods. The PCR technique has the added advantage of being a rapid test yielding results within 2 days of sampling. Overall sensitivity for the detection of M. tuberculosis in bone marrow aspirate may be improved to 58% [corrected] by using both culture and PCR techniques.
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematological Pathology, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Lombard
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Victor
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jordaan
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: van Helden
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014375:Tuberculoma / Q000473:pathology; D014391:Tuberculosis, Miliary / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology