Assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of Xpert MTB/RIF assay as an early sputum biomarker of response to tuberculosis treatment

SO Friedrich; A Rachow; E Saathoff; K Singh; CD Mangu; R Dawson; PPJ Phillips; A Venter; A Bateson; CC Boehme; N Heinrich; RD Hunt; MJ Boeree; A Zumla; TD McHugh; SH Gillespie; AH Diacon; M Hoelscher

Journal article

Assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of Xpert MTB/RIF assay as an early sputum biomarker of response to tuberculosis treatment

SO Friedrich, A Rachow, E Saathoff, K Singh, CD Mangu, R Dawson, PPJ Phillips, A Venter, A Bateson, CC Boehme, N Heinrich, RD Hunt, MJ Boeree, A Zumla, TD McHugh, SH Gillespie, AH Diacon, M Hoelscher

Lancet Respiratory Medicine | Published : 2013

DOI: 10.1016/S2213-2600(13)70119-X

Abstract

Background: An accurate biomarker is urgently needed to monitor the response to treatment in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. The Xpert MTB/RIF assay is a commercially available real-time PCR that can be used to detect Mycobacterium-tuberculosis-specific DNA sequences in sputum samples. We therefore evaluated this assay with serial sputum samples obtained over 26 weeks from patients undergoing treatment for tuberculosis. Methods: We analysed sputum samples from 221 patients with smear-positive tuberculosis enrolled at two sites (Cape Town, South Africa, and Mbeya, Tanzania) of a multicentre randomised clinical trial REMoxTB of antituberculosis treatment on a weekly basis (weeks 0 to 8),..

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