Abstract
To determine the value of the PCR assay of lymphomonocytic blood cells for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, we compared, in a prospective study, PCR results with results of conventional diagnostic methods of Mycobacterium tuberculosis detection. Clinical investigators who were unaware of the PCR data classified 162 immunocompetent patients, who had been hospitalized because of suspected pulmonary tuberculosis, in accordance with the recommendations of the American Thoracic Society (ATS). By testing blood samples from these patients for mycobacterial DNA with three different PCR systems, we were able to demonstrate that nonquantitative PCR of peripheral blood leukocytes is of little value for the specific diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. However, semiquantitative PCR assays might have some significance since we found an increasing level of mycobacterial DNA copies in blood from patients classified in ATS groups 2 to 5.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (154.8 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Beige J., Lokies J., Schaberg T., Finckh U., Fischer M., Mauch H., Lode H., Köhler B., Rolfs A. Clinical evaluation of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis PCR assay. J Clin Microbiol. 1995 Jan;33(1):90–95. doi: 10.1128/jcm.33.1.90-95.1995. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Buck G. E., O'Hara L. C., Summersgill J. T. Rapid, simple method for treating clinical specimens containing Mycobacterium tuberculosis to remove DNA for polymerase chain reaction. J Clin Microbiol. 1992 May;30(5):1331–1334. doi: 10.1128/jcm.30.5.1331-1334.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Eisenach K. D., Cave M. D., Bates J. H., Crawford J. T. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of a repetitive DNA sequence specific for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. J Infect Dis. 1990 May;161(5):977–981. doi: 10.1093/infdis/161.5.977. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hermans P. W., Schuitema A. R., Van Soolingen D., Verstynen C. P., Bik E. M., Thole J. E., Kolk A. H., van Embden J. D. Specific detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains by polymerase chain reaction. J Clin Microbiol. 1990 Jun;28(6):1204–1213. doi: 10.1128/jcm.28.6.1204-1213.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kolk A. H., Kox L. F., Kuijper S., Richter C. Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in peripheral blood. Lancet. 1994 Sep 3;344(8923):694–694. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(94)92135-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kox L. F., Rhienthong D., Miranda A. M., Udomsantisuk N., Ellis K., van Leeuwen J., van Heusden S., Kuijper S., Kolk A. H. A more reliable PCR for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in clinical samples. J Clin Microbiol. 1994 Mar;32(3):672–678. doi: 10.1128/jcm.32.3.672-678.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Noordhoek G. T., Kolk A. H., Bjune G., Catty D., Dale J. W., Fine P. E., Godfrey-Faussett P., Cho S. N., Shinnick T., Svenson S. B. Sensitivity and specificity of PCR for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a blind comparison study among seven laboratories. J Clin Microbiol. 1994 Feb;32(2):277–284. doi: 10.1128/jcm.32.2.277-284.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rys P. N., Persing D. H. Preventing false positives: quantitative evaluation of three protocols for inactivation of polymerase chain reaction amplification products. J Clin Microbiol. 1993 Sep;31(9):2356–2360. doi: 10.1128/jcm.31.9.2356-2360.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Schluger N. W., Condos R., Lewis S., Rom W. N. Amplification of DNA of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from peripheral blood of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Lancet. 1994 Jul 23;344(8917):232–233. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(94)92999-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shankar P., Manjunath N., Mohan K. K., Prasad K., Behari M., Shriniwas, Ahuja G. K. Rapid diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis by polymerase chain reaction. Lancet. 1991 Jan 5;337(8732):5–7. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)93328-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]