title: Length of time to laboratory diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection: comparison of in-house methods with reference laboratory results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To audit the time taken to obtain laboratory confirmation of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis using in-house methods of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and culture and referral to a reference laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective collection of data from laboratory records covering a period of 1 year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median time to microbiological diagnosis of a new infection using the in-house services in addition to the reference laboratory was 22.0 days. Using reference laboratory results alone, median time to diagnosis would have been 61.5 days.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Development of on-site laboratory facilities to identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis can reduce the time to its identification by almost two-thirds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Newport
authors.forename: O J
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Billington
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Gillespie
mesh_terms: D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013997:Time Factors; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis*