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Home / The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Volume 16, Number 3

Bridging the gap between PCR detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and tuberculosis diagnosis [Short communication]

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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.

Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex; acid-fast smear microscopy; diagnosis; real-time PCR; tuberculosis

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Evora, Evora, Portugal 2: Departamento de Epidemiologia, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal 3: Departamento de Genética, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal

Publication date: 01 March 2012

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  • The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD) is for clinical research and epidemiological studies on lung health, including articles on TB, TB-HIV and respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, asthma, COPD, child lung health and the hazards of tobacco and air pollution. Individuals and institutes can subscribe to the IJTLD online or in print – simply email us at [email protected] for details.

    The IJTLD is dedicated to understanding lung disease and to the dissemination of knowledge leading to better lung health. To allow us to share scientific research as rapidly as possible, the IJTLD is fast-tracking the publication of certain articles as preprints prior to their publication. Read fast-track articles.

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