BACKGROUND Xpert™ MTB/Rif is a multiplex hemi-nested real-time PCR-based assay to detect presence of M. tuberculosis within 2 hours of sample collection. The present study aimed at assessing efficacy of Xpert™ MTB/Rif assay for diagnosing peritoneal tuberculosis. METHODS Patients with exudative ascites, fluid negative for acid-fast bacilli on auramine O fluorescence staining and unyielding fl...

BACKGROUND Tuberculous sputum provides a sample of bacilli that must be eliminated by chemotherapy and that may go on to transmit infection. A preliminary observation that Mycobacterium tuberculosis cells contain triacylglycerol lipid bodies in sputum, but not when growing in vitro, led us to investigate the extent of this phenomenon and its physiological basis. METHODS AND FINDINGS Microscop...

A study was performed to diagnose tuberculosis by smear, culture, and nucleic acid amplification. The study was comprised of two independent arms. Each arm used a different specimen processing method; in one arm, all specimens were processed with N-acetyl-l-cysteine-sodium hydroxide, and in the other arm, all specimens were processed with C(18)-carboxypropylbetaine and lytic enzymes. In each ar...

BACKGROUND Low serum concentrations of vitamin A and zinc are common in tuberculosis and may have an adverse effect on host cell-mediated responses. The role of adjunctive micronutrient supplementation on treatment outcomes is uncertain. OBJECTIVE The objective was to assess the efficacy of vitamin A and zinc supplementation on sputum smear and culture conversion and time to culture detection...

BACKGROUND Light emitting diode (LED) fluorescence microscopy (FM) is an affordable, technology targeted for use in resource-limited settings and recommended for widespread roll-out by the World Health Organization (WHO). We sought to compare the operational performance of three LED FM methods compared to light microscopy in a cohort of HIV-positive tuberculosis (TB) suspects at an urban clinic...

In an earlier paper from this laboratory (1) there were described the characteristics of competitive inhibition resulting from the interference of certain aromatic compounds with the association of flavin adenine dinucleotide and the separated protein of n-amino acid oxidase. Included among the inhibitors were auramine, quinine, and various other quinolines and anilines. We now present our find...

BACKGROUND The diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis presents challenges in children because symptoms are non-specific, specimens are difficult to obtain, and cultures and smears of Mycobacterium tuberculosis are often negative. We assessed new diagnostic approaches for tuberculosis in children in a resource-poor country. METHODS Children with symptoms suggestive of pulmonary tuberculosis (case...

92% and those with previously treated tuberculosis would have remained below the diagnostic threshold. In this issue of Thorax, Breen et al 12 take a slightly different approach using tuber-culin testing and flow cytometry (see page 67). BAL fluid was taken from a substantially larger group of patients (n = 250) in whom tuberculosis was suspected but the sputum smear was negative for auramine-p...