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Lin CR, Wang HY, Lin TW, Lu JJ, Hsieh JCH, Wu MH. Development of a two-step nucleic acid amplification test for accurate diagnosis of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5750. [PMID: 33707640 PMCID: PMC7952592 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-85160-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) remains one of the top 10 leading causes of death globally. The early diagnosis of MTBC can reduce mortality and mitigate disease transmission. However, current nucleic acid amplification diagnostic test methods are generally time-consuming and show suboptimal diagnostic performance, especially in extrapulmonary MTBC samples or acid-fast stain (AFS)-negative cases. Thus, development of an accurate assay for the diagnosis of MTBC is necessary, particularly under the above mentioned conditions. In this study, a single-tube nested real-time PCR assay (N-RTP) was developed and compared with a newly in-house-developed high-sensitivity real-time PCR assay (HS-RTP) using 134 clinical specimens (including 73 pulmonary and 61 extrapulmonary specimens). The amplification efficiency of HS-RTP and N-RTP was 99.8% and 100.7%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of HS-RTP and N-RTP for the diagnosis of MTBC in these specimens were 97.5% (77/79) versus 94.9% (75/79) and 80.0% (44/55) versus 89.1% (49/55), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of HS-RTP and N-RTP for the diagnosis of MTBC in pulmonary specimens were 96.3% (52/54) versus 96.3% (52/54) and 73.7.0% (14/19) versus 89.5% (17/19), respectively; in extrapulmonary specimens, the sensitivity and specificity of HS-RTP and N-RTP were 100% (25/25) versus 92% (23/25) and 83.3% (30/36) versus 88.9% (32/36), respectively. Among the AFS-negative cases, the sensitivity and specificity of HS-RTP and N-RTP were 97.0% (32/33) versus 90.9% (30/33) and 88.0% (44/50) versus 92.0% (46/50), respectively. Overall, the sensitivity of HS-RTP was higher than that of N-RTP, and the performance was not compromised in extrapulmonary specimens and under AFS-negative conditions. In contrast, the specificity of the N-RTP assay was higher than that of the HS-RTP assay in all types of specimens. In conclusion, the HS-RTP assay would be useful for screening patients suspected of exhibiting an MTBC infection due to its higher sensitivity, while the N-RTP assay could be used for confirmation because of its higher specificity. Our results provide a two-step method (screen to confirm) that simultaneously achieves high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of MTBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chien-Ru Lin
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Hsin-Yao Wang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.,Ph.D. Program in Biomedical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
| | - Ting-Wei Lin
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
| | - Jang-Jih Lu
- School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.,Department of Medical Biotechnology and Laboratory Science, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
| | - Jason Chia-Hsun Hsieh
- Division of Haematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.,Division of Haematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, New Taipei Municipal Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Min-Hsien Wu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan. .,Division of Haematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. .,Department of Chemical Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
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