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Related Experiment Videos

Detecting mycobacteraemia for diagnosing tuberculosis.

S Thambu David1, Umadevi Mukundan, K N Brahmadathan

  • 1Department of Medicine Unit 2, Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore, India. thambu@cmcvellore.ac.in

The Indian Journal of Medical Research
|July 10, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Blood cultures for Mycobacterium tuberculosis can aid in diagnosing tuberculosis (TB), especially in HIV-infected individuals. This method is a valuable supplementary tool when sputum tests are inconclusive for TB diagnosis.

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Area of Science:

  • Medical Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

  • Sputum microscopy for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) is often insufficient for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) in HIV-infected individuals.
  • Diagnosing extrapulmonary TB can be challenging due to the limited availability of mycobacteria-containing samples.
  • Alternative diagnostic methods are crucial for TB detection in complex cases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the utility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis blood cultures for diagnosing TB.
  • To assess the prevalence of mycobacteremia in patients with suspected TB, with and without HIV co-infection.
  • To determine if blood culture can serve as an initial or sole diagnostic source for TB.

Main Methods:

  • Recruited 93 subjects with a clinical diagnosis of TB (42 HIV-positive, 38 HIV-negative) and 13 HIV-positive individuals without TB.

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  • Performed mycobacterial blood cultures using lysis centrifugation.
  • Utilized modified Lowenstein-Jenson (LJ-1, LJ-2, LJ-3) and Selective Kirchner's media for subculturing.

    • Main Results:

    • Mycobacteremia was detected in 16.2% of subjects (15/93).
    • Blood culture was the sole diagnostic source for TB in 26.7% of positive cases (4/15).
    • Among HIV-infected patients with confirmed TB, 43% (9/21) showed mycobacteremia.

    Conclusions:

    • Blood culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a valuable additional diagnostic test for TB, particularly in HIV-infected patients.
    • In non-HIV patients with clinical signs of TB, blood culture can occasionally aid diagnosis.
    • Recommended method involves lysis centrifugation followed by direct smear and inoculation into LJ and Kirchner's media.