Riaz Hussain Shah, Naveed Inayat, Ghulam Rasool Bouk, Mehtab Akhtar, Muzaffar Ali Khooharo, Shakir Qayoom.
Rapid Detection of Tuberculosis and Rifampicin Resistance with Automated Genexpert MTB/RIF Assay.
Pak J Chest Med Jan ;22(2):61-4.

Objective: To Determine the Sensitivity and specificity of GeneXpert Test for diagnosis of Tuberculosis and Rapid detection of Rifampicin Resistance in Smear Positive and Smear Negative Pulmonary Tuberculosis cases. Background and Methods: Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (TB) is a Major health problem across the world and currently killing 1.5 million people every year. The early detection of Tuberculosis is essential to reduce the death rate and interrupt the transmission. The GeneXpert MTB/RIF test is the novel integrated diagnostic device for the diagnosis of Tuberculosis and rapid detection of Rifampicin resistance, which can lead to Tuberculosis detection in a less than 02 hours. This study is a prospective and conducted between December, 2011 to March, 2014 at PMDT Site, Department of Pulmonology, Chandka Medical College, Shaeed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University. Results: Among the total 2019 patients, 1210 were Sputum Smear Positive & 809 were Sputum Smear Negative. The overall sensitivity was 91.15% and specificity was 100% for the diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis Smear +ve & Smear ?ve cases. The GeneXpert identified 273 cases Rifampicin resistant, 253 were for Sputum Smear +ve and 20 from Sputum Smear ?ve pulmonary cases. Conclusion: The Xpert MTB/RIF is highly sensitive for detection of tuberculosis and Rifampicin resistance. It require reduced time for detection of tuberculosis and Rifampicin resistance compared to the convenience test, that in turn help to initiate timely diagnosis and start of treatment.

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