title: A simple breath test for tuberculosis using ion mobility: A pilot study.
abstract: Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world's major health burdens with 9.6 million new infections globally. Though considerable progress has been made in reduction of TB incidence and mortality, there is a continuous need for lower cost, simpler and more robust means of diagnosis. One method that may fulfil these requirements is in the area of breath analysis. In this study we analysed the breath of 21 patients with pulmonary or extra-pulmonary TB, recruited from a UK teaching hospital (University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire) before or within 1 week of commencing treatment for TB. TB diagnosis was confirmed by reference tests (mycobacterial culture), histology or radiology. 19 controls were recruited to calculate specificity; these patients were all interferon-gamma release assay negative (T.SPOT(®).TB, Oxford Immunotec Ltd.). Whole breath samples were collected with subsequent chemical analysis undertaken by Ion Mobility Spectrometry. Our results produced a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 79% for all cases of TB (pulmonary and extra-pulmonary). Though lower than other studies analysing pulmonary TB alone, we believe that this technique shows promise, and a higher sensitivity could be achieved by further improving our sample capture methodology.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Infection and Tropical Medicine, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Infirmary Square, Leicester, LE1 5WW, UK. Electronic address: amandip.sahota@uhl-tr.nhs.uk.
authors.forename: Amandip S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Sahota
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Coventry, CV2 2DX, UK. Electronic address: ravi.gowda@ravigowdahealth.com.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gowda
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, and Clinical Sciences Research Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV2 2DX, UK. Electronic address: R.Arasaradnam@warwick.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ramesh P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Arasaradnam
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK. Electronic address: E.Daulton@warwick.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Daulton
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Centre/Medical School, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL, UK. Electronic address: R.S.Savage@warwick.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.affiliation: Centre for Complexity Science, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL, UK. Electronic address: J.R.Skinner@warwick.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jim R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Skinner
authors.affiliation: Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK. Electronic address: Emily.Adams@lstmed.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.affiliation: Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK. Electronic address: steve.ward@lstmed.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK. Electronic address: J.A.Covington@warwick.ac.uk.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Covington
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004739:England; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D059425:Interferon-gamma Release Tests; D007477:Ions; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009038:Motion; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D007477:Ions