title: Comparison of mycobacteria growth indicator tube with BACTEC 460 for detection and recovery of mycobacteria from clinical specimens.
abstract: We compared the Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) system with the BACTEC 460 (B460) and Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) systems for the recovery of mycobacteria (acid-fast bacteria [AFB]) from 1,441 clinical specimens. Excluding 13 isolates of Mycobacterium gordonae, 178 significant AFB isolates were recovered from 113 patients. Isolates (119) of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) accounted for 67% of all isolates, while isolates (30) of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB) accounted for 17% of isolates. The MGIT system recovered 98 (82%) MAC and 27 (90%) MTB isolates, while the B460 system recovered 101 (85%) MAC and 28 (93%) MTB isolates and the LJ system recovered 91 (76%) MAC and 25 (83%) MTB isolates. Overall, the MGIT system recovered 152 isolates of AFB (85.4% sensitivity), and the B460 and LJ systems recovered 151 (84.8% sensitivity) and 137 (76.9% sensitivity) AFB isolates, respectively. The recoveries of AFB with combinations of media were as follows: MGIT + LJ, 93.2%; B460 + LJ, 92.1%; and MGIT + B460, 96.6%. Although the sensitivity of MGIT was equivalent to that of B460, MGIT required a longer incubation (median, 11 days) than did B460 (median, 8 days) to become positive (P < 0.05).
authors.affiliation: Clinical Microbiology-Immunology Laboratories, University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill 27514, USA.
authors.forename: F Z
authors.initials: FZ
authors.lastname: Badak
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kiska
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Setterquist
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hartley
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: O'Connell
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Hopfer
mesh_terms: D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000254:growth & development*