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Updated: Nov 26, 2025
Diagnosing Pulmonary Tuberculosis with the Xpert MTB/RIF Test
Published on: April 9, 2012
Diagnostic incremental value of sputum in patients with pleural tuberculosis
1Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shandong Provincial Chest Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Background:
Pleural effusion (PE) Xpert has limited use in the diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis (TB). However, the diagnostic incremental value of sputum Xpert for pleural TB diagnosis remains unclear.
Materials And Methods:
Between March 2018 and October 2019, patients with certain causes (such as TB, malignancy, and pneumonia) of PE were enrolled in our study. Sputum and PE were collected from all patients and sent for acid-fast bacilli smear (Auramine O staining), mycobacterial culture (Lowenstein-Jensen media), and Xpert. The differences in the sensitivities of these TB assays between different groups were examined with the chi-square test.
Results:
One hundred and twenty-seven PE patients were enrolled in the study and then were divided into pleural TB (n = 104) and other causes of PE (excluding TB, referred as non-pleural TB; n = 23). Compared with PE Xpert (11.5%, 12/104), sputum Xpert has a higher sensitivity of 25.0% (26/104, p = .012 < .05). The combination of sputum and PE has a non-significant higher sensitivity of 31.7% (33/104) than Xpert on sputum (p > .05). Culture using both sputum and PE combined has a high sensitivity of 43.3% (45/104).
Conclusion:
Compared to PE Xpert, sputum Xpert showed an incremental diagnostic yield in the diagnosis of pleural TB and is expected to speed up the diagnosis of pleural TB.
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