Clofazimine drug susceptibility testing for Mycobacterium tuberculosis: the case of using the right diluent
Li-Hwei Sng1, Justine Woei Ling Peh1, Melody Tai Lee Kee1
1Central Tuberculosis Laboratory, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
Abstract:
Accurate and reliable drug susceptibility testing (DST) is essential for the effective treatment and control of tuberculosis. With the increase in drug-resistant organisms, newer and less conventional antimicrobial agents are used for treatment. Recently, we found an unprecedented rise in the number of clofazimine-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in our laboratory. An investigation found that this phenomenon was due to a change in the method of drug preparation. We performed studies to assess the impact of water and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a final diluent for clofazimine drug testing. Based on our findings, the use of DMSO as a solvent for M. tuberculosis DST was optimised using the BACTEC MGIT 960 platform.
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