Evaluation of Diagnostic Methods and Rifampicin Resistance in Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Hospital-Based Study

Background Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, predominantly affecting the lungs (pulmonary TB) and is a significant public health challenge in India. The study aims to analyze demographic, radiological, and clinical subgroups of pulmonary TB cases, examine the relationship between smear acid-fast bacillus (AFB examination) and cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT), evaluate CBNAAT sensitivity for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in new and previously treated patients, and determine the proportion of rifampicin resistance. Methods This hospital-based prospective study was conducted among patients diagnosed with pulmonary TB at the Respiratory Medicine Department of a Government Hospital over 16 months (August 2019 to December 2020). The study included 150 diagnosed TB cases (new and previously treated). Data collection encompassed demographic details, clinical symptoms, comorbidities, radiological findings (chest X-ray), and microbiological results (smear AFB examination, CBNAAT). Sputum samples were subjected to Ziehl-Neelsen staining and CBNAAT for MTB detection and rifampicin resistance testing. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results Of the 150 patients, 69.3% were male, and 48% were aged 21-40 years. The majority had a BMI of 18.5-24.9 kg/m² (50%) and resided in urban areas (63.3%). Common symptoms included cough (95.3%), fever (80%), and weight loss (74%). Cavitary lesions on chest X-ray were observed in 84% of patients. Smear microscopy detected MTB in 72.7% of cases, while CBNAAT detected MTB in 94% of cases. CBNAAT sensitivity for smear-positive and smear-negative samples was 93.97% and 94.12%, respectively. Rifampicin resistance was found in 3% of new cases and 6% of previously treated cases. The sensitivity of smear microscopy was 77.33%, and the sensitivity of CBNAAT was 94%. Conclusion The study underscores the high burden of pulmonary TB and the utility of CBNAAT in detecting MTB and rifampicin resistance, particularly in smear-negative samples. The findings highlight the necessity of universal drug susceptibility testing (DST) for effective TB management and the importance of addressing drug resistance to improve treatment outcomes.