Field evaluation of a simple fluorescence method for detection of viable Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum specimens during treatment follow-up.
Simple tuberculosis (TB) treatment monitoring tools are needed. We assessed the performance of fluorescein-diacetate (FDA) smear microscopy for detection of viable Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum specimens (n = 288) of TB cases under treatment compared to culture (17.4% culture positivity). FDA sensitivity was moderate (83.7% [95% confidence interval {CI}, 70.3 to 92.6]), and specificity was low (66.1% [59.5 to 72.2]). The good negative predictive value (94.8% [90.1 to 97.8]) and negative likelihood ratio (0.2) suggest using this method to rule out treatment failure in settings without access to culture.
Epicentre, Paris, France. Birgit.Schramm@epicentre.msf.org
Birgit
B
Schramm
Cathy
C
Hewison
Laurence
L
Bonte
Warren
W
Jones
Olivier
O
Camélique
Ronnatrai
R
Ruangweerayut
Witaya
W
Swaddiwudhipong
Maryline
M
Bonnet
D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005452:Fluoresceins / Q000378:metabolism; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology*; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology
D005452:Fluoresceins; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; C018506:diacetylfluorescein