Implementation of the Thin Layer Agar Method for Diagnosis of Smear-Negative Pulmonary Tuberculosis in a Setting with a High Prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Homa Bay, Kenya

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of a low-cost method, the thin layer agar (TLA) method, for the diagnosis of smear-negative patients. This prospective study was performed in Homa Bay District Hospital in Kenya. Out of 1,584 smear-negative sputum samples, 212 (13.5%) were...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Clinical Microbiology 2009-08, Vol.47 (8), p.2632-2634
Main Authors: Martin, Anandi, Munga Waweru, Peter, Babu Okatch, Fred, Amondi Ouma, Naureen, Bonte, Laurence, Varaine, Francis, Portaels, Françoise
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agar
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial diseases of the respiratory system
Bacteriological Techniques - economics
Bacteriological Techniques - methods
Biological and medical sciences
Clinical Laboratory Techniques - economics
Clinical Laboratory Techniques - methods
Culture Media - chemistry
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
HIV Infections - complications
HIV Infections - epidemiology
Human bacterial diseases
Human immunodeficiency virus
Human viral diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Kenya
Medical sciences
Microbiology
Mycobacteriology and Aerobic Actinomycetes
Mycobacterium
Mycobacterium tuberculosis - growth & development
Mycobacterium tuberculosis - isolation & purification
Prospective Studies
Sensitivity and Specificity
Sputum - microbiology
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary - diagnosis
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary - microbiology
Viral diseases
Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids
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Summary:The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of a low-cost method, the thin layer agar (TLA) method, for the diagnosis of smear-negative patients. This prospective study was performed in Homa Bay District Hospital in Kenya. Out of 1,584 smear-negative sputum samples, 212 (13.5%) were positive by culture in Löwenstein-Jensen medium (LJ) and 220 (14%) were positive by the TLA method. The sensitivities of LJ and TLA were 71% and 74%, respectively. TLA could become an affordable method for the diagnosis of smear-negative tuberculosis in resource-limited settings, with results available within 2 weeks.
ISSN:0095-1137
1098-660X
DOI:10.1128/JCM.00264-09