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Updated: Dec 30, 2025
Comparative Analysis of Automatic Fecal Analyzer versus Direct Wet Smear Microscopy for Detecting Parasitic Infections in Stool Samples
Published on: April 25, 2025
Multicenter evaluation of membrane-based smear microscopy for detecting acid-fast bacilli in China
Hui Xia1, Yanli Yuan2, Tiejuan Zhang2
1National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory, National Center for Tuberculosis Prevention and Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention No. 155, Changbai Road, Changping District, Beijing, China.
Objective:
To assess the feasibility and reliability of using membrane-based smear microscopy at peripheral laboratories in China.
Methods:
The clinical case control study was conducted in five tuberculosis (TB) dispensaries from September 2014 to May 2016. The membrane-based microscopy and direct smear microscopy were performed to compare the sensitivity, specificity, and the examination time for both methods was also analyzed.
Results:
A total of 5359 TB suspects were consecutively enrolled from 5 TB dispensaries, and 9915 specimens were finally analyzed. The sensitivity for membrane-based microscopy and direct smear microscopy was 76.9% (95% CI, 75.4-78.4) and 53.8% (95% CI, 52.1-55.6) respectively, and the specificity was 96.8% (95% CI, 96.4-97.2) and 99.2% (95% CI, 99.0-99.4) respectively. The sensitivity and specificity were both significantly different (P<0.001) between the two methods. The examination time for membrane-based smear microscopy (209.1±112.0 seconds) was significantly shorter than that for direct smear microscopy (253.1±79.4 seconds) (P<0.05).
Conclusions:
Membrane-based smear microscopy showed higher sensitivity and a shorter examination time in comparison with direct smear microscopy and it could be used at peripheral laboratories in China.
