Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in sputum specimens using a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay in Korea.

Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in sputum specimens using a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay in Korea. J Med Microbiol. 2015 Sep 2; Authors: Moon SH, Kim EJ, Tomono J, Miyamoto S, Mitarai S, Kim DW, Seki M Abstract Tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease that is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC), remains one of the leading causes of death in the world. In Korea, the current prevalence of multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) poses a major problem. The most common method for diagnosing TB in developing countries is sputum smear microscopy; however the sensitivity of this test is relatively low, and it usually requires well-trained laboratory staff. Cultures of MTC require up to several weeks in sophisticated facilities, such as Bio Safety Level-3. Effective diagnostic techniques are necessary to control TB. In Korea, we evaluated a loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay (LAMP) targeting the hspX gene (TB-hspX-LAMP) of MTC. For clinical evaluation, culture confirmation, smear microscopy, and TB-hspX-LAMP were performed on 303 sputum specimens obtained from suspected TB patients in Korea. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of TB-hspX-LAMP were 71.1, 98.8, 91.4, and 95.1 %, respectively, compared with TB culture, which is the gold standard for diagnosis of TB. In contrast, the comparable values of the smear microscopy were 24.4, 98.1...
Source: Journal of Medical Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: J Med Microbiol Source Type: research