Clinical evaluation of tuberculosis viability microscopy for assessing treatment response.

ABSTRACT:

Background

It is difficult to determine whether early tuberculosis treatment is effective in reducing the infectiousness of patients' sputum, because culture takes weeks and conventional acid-fast sputum microscopy and molecular tests cannot differentiate live from dead tuberculosis.

Methods

To assess treatment response, sputum samples (n=124) from unselected patients (n=35) with sputum microscopy-positive tuberculosis were tested pretreatment and after 3, 6, and 9 days of empiric first-line therapy. Tuberculosis quantitative viability microscopy with fluorescein diacetate, quantitative culture, and acid-fast auramine microscopy were all performed in triplicate.

Results

Tuberculosis quantitative viability microscopy predicted quantitative culture results such that 76%

SUBMITTER: Datta S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4370166 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature