Pooling sputum samples for the Xpert MTB/RIF assay: a practical screening strategy for highly infectious tuberculosis cases.

ABSTRACT: The Xpert MTB/RIF test (Xpert) can help in the accurate screening of tuberculosis, however, its widespread use is limited by its high cost and lack of accessibility. Pooling of sputum samples for testing is a strategy to cut expenses and enhance population coverage but may result in a decrease in detection sensitivity due to the dilution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) by sample mixing. We investigated how the mixing ratio affected the detection performance of Xpert. We used frozen sputum samples that had been kept after individual Xpert assays of the sputa from Mtb-confirmed TB patients and non-TB patients. Our results showed that the overall sensitivity of the Xpert pooling assay remained higher than 80% when the mixing ratio was between 1/2 and 1/8. When the mixing ratio was raised

SUBMITTER: Zeng J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10807086 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature