title: Evaluation of 120 mycobacterial strains isolated from clinical specimens to the species level by polymerase chain reaction-restriction enzyme analysis.
abstract: In this study, a total of 120 mycobacterial strains isolated from clinical specimens in Hacettepe University Hospital Clinical Pathology Laboratories were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction-restriction enzyme analysis (PRA), which analyses the common mycobacterial heat shock protein gene (hsp65). 95 of 120 strains (79.1%) were identified as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and 25 (20.8%) were identified as non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). M. gordonae I and IV were the most common NTM species (3.3% each) followed by M. chelonae (2.5%). Other NTM species isolated were M. gordonae III, M. avium, M. peregrinum (1.6%), M. fortuitum, M. flavescens, M. malmoense and M. mucogenicum (0.8%). Four isolates had PRA patterns that did not match any patterns previously described. The patients who had NTM had underlying diseases; the most frequent clinical diagnosis among these was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic renal failure. AIDS and pulmonary carcinoma were the other underlying diseases detected.
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ergin
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kocagöz
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Us
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D018834:Chaperonin 60; D018833:Chaperonins / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D015183:Restriction Mapping / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D018834:Chaperonin 60; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C074119:heat-shock protein 65, Mycobacterium; D018833:Chaperonins