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Rapid Diagnosis of Tuberculous Meningitis by Ligase Chain Reaction Amplification

2002; Informa; Volume: 34; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00365540110076967

1651-1980

M. C. Rajo, María de Toro, F. L. Lado Lado, Emilio Estévez Prieto, Fabián Pardo, M. J. López,

Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology

A total of 87 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples obtained from 85 patients with suspected meningitis were examined for the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by means of ligase chain reaction amplification (LCx®; Abbott Laboratories). The results were compared with direct smear and culture results. Of 61 patients with pathological CSF, 9 (14.8%) were scheduled to receive treatment for tuberculous meningitis. The sensitivity of the smear and culture tests was 11.1 and 33.3%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the LCx assay were 55.5, 100, 100 and 92.9%, respectively. The results reveal that amplification by ligase chain reaction is valuable for the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis.