Persisting positron emission tomography lesion activity and Mycobacterium tuberculosis mRNA after tuberculosis cure.

ABSTRACT: The absence of a gold standard to determine when antibiotics induce a sterilizing cure has confounded the development of new approaches to treat pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). We detected positron emission tomography and computerized tomography (PET-CT) imaging response patterns consistent with active disease, along with the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) mRNA in sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage samples, in a substantial proportion of adult, HIV-negative patients with PTB after a standard 6-month treatment plus 1 year follow-up, including patients with a durable cure and others who later developed recurrent disease. The presence of MTB mRNA in the context of nonresolving and intensifying lesions on PET-CT images might indicate ongoing transcription, suggesting that even appar

SUBMITTER: Malherbe ST 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5053881 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature