Comparison of Xpert MTB/RIF (G4) and Xpert Ultra, including trace readouts, for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in a TB and HIV endemic setting

The development of rapid and accurate diagnostic tests for tuberculosis (TB), which decreases the time of treatment initiation is an important strategy to control the TB epidemic. The WHO recommended Xpert MTB/RIF assay (Cepheid, USA) is an automated cartridge-based, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that has been proven to reduce time to treatment initiation in TB patients (Boehme et al., 2011, Calligaro et al., 2017) by detecting the presence of TB and drug resistance to rifampicin (RIFR) in sputum samples within 2  hrs (Theron et al., 2011).
Source: International Journal of Infectious Diseases - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Source Type: research