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Paradigm for diagnosing mycobacterial disease: direct detection and differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and non-tuberculous mycobacteria in clinical specimens using multiplex real-time PCR
  1. Jeong-Uk Kim1,
  2. Dae-Shick Ryu2,
  3. Choong-Hwan Cha1,
  4. Seon-Hee Park1
  1. 1 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Gangneung Asan Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Gangneung, Korea
  2. 2 Department of Radiology, Gangneung Asan Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Gangneung, Korea
  1. Correspondence to Professor Jeong-Uk Kim, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Gangneung Asan Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Gangneung, Korea; jukim{at}gnah.co.kr

Abstract

Aims Mycobacterium tuberculosis and non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are clinically different, and the rapid detection and differentiation of M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and NTM is crucial for patient management and infection control. Given the slow growth of most pathogenic mycobacteria, nucleic acid amplification assays are excellent tools for direct identification of mycobacteria in clinical specimens. Recently, a multiplex real-time PCR assay was developed that can directly detect 20 mycobacterial species in clinical specimens. Here, we evaluated the diagnostic performance of the assay for diagnosing mycobacterial disease under routine laboratory conditions.

Methods A total of 3334 specimens collected from 1437 patients suspected of tuberculosis infection were subjected to acid-fast bacilli staining, conventional culture and the multiplex real-time PCR assay. To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the assay, the overall diagnosis of tuberculosis was defined by positive culture plus medical history, and the 2007 American Thoracic Society and Infectious Disease Society of America diagnostic criteria for NTM disease were applied.

Results The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 87.5%, 99.6%, 96.1% and 98.5%, respectively, for the detection of MTBC isolates and 53.3%, 99.9%, 95.2%, and 98.9%, respectively, for detecting NTM isolates.

Conclusions Thus, the assay can correctly differentiate between MTBC and NTM isolates in clinical specimens and would be a useful tool for the rapid differentiation of tuberculosis and NTM disease, despite its limited sensitivity for the diagnosis of NTM disease.

  • mycobacterium tuberculosiscomplex
  • nontuberculous mycobacteria
  • real-time PCR
  • tuberculosis
  • nontuberculous mycobacterial disease

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Footnotes

  • Handling editor Tony Mazzulli.

  • Funding This study was supported by a grant from the Korean Health Technology R&D Project, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea (A102065).

  • Competing interests The corresponding author, J-UK has a patent registered with the Korean Intellectual Property Office. Other authors have no competing interests to declare.

  • Patient consent Not required.

  • Ethics approval The Institutional Review Board at Gangneung Asan Hospital (GNAN IRB 2015-030).

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.