Rapid diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis by mycobacteriophage assay

We evaluated FASTPlaqueTB, a recently introduced bacteriophage assay for rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in sputum specimens, using 169 non-duplicate sputum specimens from patients suspected of pulmonary tuberculosis. The results of 160 specimens were analysed. FASTPlaqueTB assay detected tuberculosis in 77% (46/60) of culture-positive cases. Among the AFB smear-positive cases (n = 47) it had a sensitivity of 76% and specificity of 60% while among AFB smear-negative cases (n = 113) its sensitivity and specificity were 78% and 98%, respectively. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the technique were 77% and 96%, respectively, and the positive and negative predictive values were respectively 92% and 87%. The overall efficiency of the test was 89%. Test results were available in 48 h.