Evaluation of the BacT/ALERT 3D system for recovery and drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
We evaluated the BacT/ALERT 3D system for recovery and drug susceptibility testing (DST) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Of 2659 clinical specimens, MTB was detected in 92 using BacT/ALERT, compared to 94 using Löwenstein-Jensen culture. Detection time was 25% shorter with BacT/ALERT. Sensitivities were 92%, 96%, 78% and 100% for resistance to rifampicin, isoniazid, streptomycin and ethambutol, respectively, while specificity was 100% for all antibiotics, when BacT/ALERT was compared with the BACTEC 460 method on 50 MTB isolates. The BacT/ALERT system is fully automated and creates no radioactive waste. It seems to be a valid alternative for primary isolation, but further evaluation is needed regarding DST.
Angeby
K A K
KA
Department of Bacteriology, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, 171 82 Solna, Sweden. kristian.angeby@smi.ki.se
Werngren
J
J
Toro
J C
JC
Hedström
G
G
Petrini
B
B
Hoffner
S E
SE
D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic / Q000592:standards*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000382:microbiology*
D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic