ABSTRACT
An enzyme immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was evaluated as a serodiagnostic test in patients with active tuberculosis (Group I), clinically suspected pulmonary tuberculosis (Group II) and pulmonary diseases other than tuberculosis and normal healthy subjects (Group III). and compared with culture and sputum smear examination results. ELISA was found to have a sensitivity of 77.5% and a specificity of 87.5%. Sputum smear had a sensitivity of 65% and specificity of 100%. In patients clinically suspected to have pulmonary tuberculosis ELISA had a sensitivity of 60%. Thus ELISA using A60 antigen can facilitate the diagnosis of tuberculosis in patients with active as well as suspected pulmonary tuberculosis and can provide results within hours of receipt of samples.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Antibodies, Bacterial/blood , Antigens, Bacterial/immunology , Case-Control Studies , Child , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods , Female , Humans , Immunoglobulin M/blood , Male , Middle Aged , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/immunology , Sensitivity and Specificity , Sputum/microbiology , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/immunologyABSTRACT
One hundred and fifty six strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, isolated from cases of pulmonary tuberculosis were subjected to sensitivity test to detect initial and acquired drug resistance to Streptomycin, isoniazid, Rifampicin, Ethambutol and Pyrazinamide. Initial and acquired drug resistance was observed to one or more drugs in 16% and 24.4% of the patients respectively. Strains resistant to Rifampicin and Ethambutol were resistant to Isoniazid also. Drug resistance was unrelated to age and sex of the patients.