Genexpert

Introduction Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), continues to pose a significant global health threat, with increasing concerns about antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study aims to elucidate the AMR patterns of MTB infections in tertiary care hospital settings. Materials and methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 138 clinical samples collected from patients attending the outpatient ward with clinically suspected MTB infections from November 2022 to April 2023 in a tertiary care hospital, Saveetha Medical College and Hospital...

BACKGROUND: This study analyzed the laboratory diagnosis results and drug resistance of patients infected with non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM). METHODS: We collected information on patients with positive indicators of NTM infection at the Henan Provincial Chest Hospital from 2020 to 2022. Acid-fast smear, mycobacterium culture, QB-SPOT assay, GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay, immunoglobulin E test, tuberculosis antibody test, and microplate method for drug sensitivity test were analyzed using strain identification as the gold standard...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic value of histopathological examination of ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy samples in extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB). METHODS: This study was conducted at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center. A total of 115 patients underwent ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy, followed by MGIT 960 culture (culture), smear, GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert), and histopathological examination. These assays were performed to evaluate their effectiveness in diagnosing EPTB in comparison to two different diagnostic criteria: liquid culture and composite reference standard (CRS)...

BACKGROUND: A population-wide, systematic screening initiative for tuberculosis (TB) was implemented on Daru island in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, where TB is known to be highly prevalent. The initiative used a mobile van equipped with a digital X-ray device, computer-aided detection (CAD) software to identify TB-related abnormalities on chest radiographs, and GeneXpert machines for follow-on diagnostic testing. We describe the results of the TB screening initiative, evaluate its population-level impact and examine risk factors associated with TB detection...

Diagnosing extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) is challenging. Immunohistochemistry or immunocytochemistry has been used to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) by detection of MPT64 antigen from various extrapulmonary specimens and has shown good diagnostic performance in our previous studies. The test can distinguish between disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) complex and nontuberculous mycobacteria and can be applied on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. As the antibodies previously used were in limited supply, a new batch of polyclonal antibodies was developed for scale-up and evaluated for the first time in this study...

INTRODUCTION: Bacterial resistance is a major threat to public health worldwide. To gain an understanding of the clinical infection distribution, drug resistance information, and genotype of CRE in Dongguan, China, as well as the resistance of relevant genotypes to CAZ-AVI, this research aims to improve drug resistance monitoring information in Dongguan and provide a reliable basis for the clinical control and treatment of CRE infection. METHODS: VITEK-2 Compact automatic analyzer was utilized to identify 516 strains of CRE collected from January 2017 to June 2023...

BACKGROUND: Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is an underrecognized but common complication of pulmonary tuberculosis. In Nigeria, a tuberculosis-endemic country, there is currently no provision to monitor the development of CPA in patients treated for tuberculosis. This study determined the prevalence and incidence of CPA in Lagos, Nigeria. METHODS: A prospective longitudinal study of patients with previously managed tuberculosis was conducted between June 2021 and May 2022...

INTRODUCTION: Osteoarticular tuberculosis (OATB) contributes to around 10% of extrapulmonary tuberculosis of which the spine is the most common site. Isolated involvement of ulna diaphysis is extremely rare. We present a case of unifocal tuberculous osteomyelitis of ulna diaphysis in a 3 -year-old male child and highlight its resemblance with musculoskeletal tumors and stress the importance of GeneXpert mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)/resistance to rifampicin (RIF) in the diagnosis of OATB...

BACKGROUND: H56:IC31 is a candidate vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) with the potential to reduce TB recurrence rate. It is thus important for future clinical trials to demonstrate safety and immunogenicity of H56:IC31 in individuals treated for TB. METHODS: 22 adults confirmed to be Mtb negative (by 2 GeneXpert tests or 2 sputum cultures) after four-five months of TB treatment, and not more than 28 days after completion of TB treatment, were randomized to receive two doses of H56:IC31 (5 mg H56:500 nmol IC31; N=16) or placebo (N=6) 56 days apart...

INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer is a major public health issue in Uganda, with high incidence due to limited screening especially in rural areas. In 2019, HPV DNA testing using GeneXpert was rolled out to improve screening access. Assessing progress and challenges since its introduction is important. AIM: To determine genotype distribution and explore health worker experiences with HPV screening using GeneXpert in Uganda. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study where HPV screening data from 66 GeneXpert labs from March 2021-May 2023 country wide was analyzed...

PURPOSE: To ascertain the prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) among refugees suspected of tuberculosis (TB) and related risk factors, including smear-positive and Rifampicin-resistant M.tb. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2020 and May 2020 among 384 refugees in four refugee camps in Northwest Tigray, Ethiopia. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected from refugees with a history of cough for more than two weeks prospectively...

BACKGROUND: Tuberculous pericarditis (TBP) is a paucibacillary disease, where host biomarkers such as unstimulated interferon γ (IRISA-TB) have high diagnostic accuracy. However, DNA-based diagnostic tests (GeneXpert Ultra), more sensitive than an earlier versions, have recently become available. Given that the diagnosis of TBP is challenging, we performed a comparative diagnostic accuracy study comparing both assays. METHODS: We recruited 99 consecutive patients with suspected TBP in Cape Town, South Africa...

This study investigated the presence of Mycobacterium bovis ( M. bovis ) DNA in archived human sputum samples previously collected from residents who reside adjacent to the M. bovis -endemic Hluhluwe-iMfolozi wildlife park, South Africa (SA). Sixty-eight sputum samples were GeneXpert MTB/RIF Ultra-positive for M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC) DNA but culture negative for M. tuberculosis . Amplification and Sanger sequencing of hsp65 and rpoB genes from DNA extracted from stored heat-inactivated sputum samples confirmed the presence of detectable amounts of MTBC from 20 out of the 68 sputum samples...

BACKGROUND: Prevalence surveys in Ethiopia indicate smear negative pulmonary tuberculosis (SNPTB) taking the major share of the overall TB burden. It has also been a diagnostic dilemma worldwide leading to diagnostic delays and difficulty in monitoring treatment outcomes. This study determines and compares the clinical and imaging findings in SNPTB and smear positive PTB (SPPTB). Methodology . A case-control study was conducted on 313 PTB (173 SNPTB) patients. Data and sputum samples were collected from consented patients...

BACKGROUND: Globally, at least 3 million TB patients are missed every year. In Zambia, the TB treatment coverage increased from 66% in 2020 to 92% in 2022. Involvement of all levels of health care service delivery is critical to finding all the missing TB patients. METHODS: A survey was undertaken in 15 private facilities in Lusaka district of Zambia using a structured tool administered by project team and a district health team member. Data collected during the survey was analysed and results were used to determine the type of TB services that were offered as well as barriers and enablers to TB service provision...

In July 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) began recommending targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS), due to its ability to detect resistance to many drugs with a single test. In March 2023, South Africa further adopted the GeneXpert XDR cartridge, which detects mutations associated with resistance to second-line injectable drugs. Here, we consider the feasibility for implementing tNGS in South Africa, what such a facility might look like and the specific context of this upper-middle-income country...

BACKGROUND: As centuries and millennia passed, tuberculosis remains the major health threat for millions of people. Due to this resurgence of tuberculosis, scientists around the globe have intensified their research efforts to curb down the transmission of this disease and that is the reason which led to the development of new and efficient diagnostic tools, one such being the rapid cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test which can give the real-time results and that too in a short period of time...

In this case report, a 29-year-old man underwent surgery to treat a fracture to the left distal end of his radius using closed reduction and K-wire fixation. The patient was advised to follow up in the outpatient department after six weeks for cast and K-wire removal. Still, the patient failed to do so and was doing alternate day dressing of the K-wires. After six months he slipped and fell from his cot while sleeping, sustaining an injury to the left wrist. Initially, he developed a swelling over the wrist, which suddenly increased in size and ruptured...

OBJECTIVE: To explore the experiences of Malawian women who underwent a human papillomavirus (HPV)-based screen-triage-treat algorithm for cervical cancer (CxCa) prevention. This algorithm included GeneXpert® HPV testing of self-collected vaginal samples, visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and colposcopy for HPV-positive women, and thermal ablation of ablation-eligible women. METHOD: In-depth interviews were conducted with participants of a trial that evaluated the feasibility of a HPV-based screen-triage-treat algorithm among women living with HIV and HIV negative women in Lilongwe, Malawi...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of urine lipoarabinomannan (LAM) detection based on chemiluminescence assay for pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in HIV-negative individuals. METHODS: A total of 215 patients and 37 healthy individuals were included according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, including 173 cases of PTB and 42 cases of EPTB. Sputum smears, sputum culture, TB-RNA, GeneXpert, and urine LAM results were obtained from all patients before treatment...