title: Efficiency of polymerase chain reaction for the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis.
abstract: The early diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is very important. In this study, the efficiency of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), one of the most reliable and sensitive DNA-based assays, was compared with conventional methods (acid-fast microscopy and culture) for the detection of M. tuberculosis in cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) specimens from patients suspected of TBM. Of the 29 CSF specimens from highly-probable TBM patients (based on clinical features), 25 were positive by PCR (86.2%), whereas only one of 29 was acid-fast microscopy (AFM) positive (3.4%), and 5 out of 29 were culture-positive (17.2%). No positive results were found by AFM, culture or PCR in the non-tuberculous control group. The results of this study indicate that the application of PCR should be extremely useful in the diagnosis of TBM.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for TB, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. rafi_dr@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Abdolnasser
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rafi
authors.forename: Behroor
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Naghily
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000592:standards*; D014390:Tuberculosis, Meningeal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial