title: Direct colorimetric assay for rapid detection of rifampin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
abstract: The colorimetric 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was standardized for direct detection of rifampin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum samples. The sensitivity and specificity of the direct MTT assay matched those of the standard indirect susceptibility assay on 7H10 medium, and interpretable results were obtained for 98.5% of the samples within 2 weeks. Traditional methods of in vitro drug susceptibility testing are time consuming and laborious. Susceptibility tests on clinical isolates require 6 to 9 weeks, and tests conducted directly on smear-positive samples take about 3 weeks (International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, The public health service national tuberculosis reference laboratory and the national laboratory network. Minimum requirements, role and operation in a low-income country, Paris, France, 1998, and P. T. Kent and G. P. Kubica, Public health mycobacteriology. A guide for the level III laboratory, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga., 1985). More-rapid methods are available but are very expensive for routine use under program conditions in countries with high levels of tuberculosis endemicity.
authors.affiliation: Armauer Hansen Research Institute, St Peter Tuberculosis Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. abateg@slu.edu
authors.forename: Getahun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abate
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aseffa
authors.forename: Alemayehu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Selassie
authors.forename: Solomon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goshu
authors.forename: Bekele
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fekade
authors.forename: Dawit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: WoldeMeskal
authors.forename: Håkan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miörner
mesh_terms: D003124:Colorimetry / Q000379:methods; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012293:Rifampin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D012293:Rifampin