title: Detection of rifampin resistant tuberculosis meningitis by polymerase chain reaction linked single strand conformation polymorphism analysis of cerebrospinal fluid.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To rapidly detect rifampin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates causing meningitis in northeast Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study presents the results of a polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis for the evaluation of rifampin resistance directly from the CSF of 47 patients strongly suspicious to have tuberculosis meningitis in Emam Reza University Hospital, Mashhad, Iran over 3 years (2002 to 2005). Each CSF sample underwent microscopic examination, culture and DNA amplification by 2 PCR protocols and subsequent detection of mutations by SSCP analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among these patients, no mutations were revealed in the rpoB segment by SSCP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The SSCP analyses of these samples shows complete susceptibility to rifampin. The use of this method can radically reduce the time needed to provide clinicians with data useful in aiding the selection of appropriate drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Virology, Mashhad University of Medical Science, Mashhad, Iran. Tel. +98 (511) 8012562 / 6092547. E-mail: Kiarash_ghazvini@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Kiarash
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ghazvini
authors.forename: Ashraf T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Sani
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rastegari
authors.forename: Javad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ghanaat
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Behdani