Bridging the gap between PCR detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and tuberculosis diagnosis.
The growing demand for rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) has led to the incorporation of nucleic acid amplification (NAA) tests in case definitions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the contribution of a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay in providing a result  predictive of a confirmed TB case. Respiratory and extra-pulmonary specimens (n = 308) were subjected to NAA, culture and smear microscopy. Qualitative PCR assessment, translated by an increase in NAA cycles, disregarding template copy number, resulted in an increase in confirmed cases,  helping to bridge the gap between the test's analytical performance and its actual performance in TB diagnosis.
Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Evora, Evora, Portugal.
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Duarte
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Paixão
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David
D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology