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Reduced sensitivity of tuberculosis serodiagnosis in patients with AIDS in Uganda
T M Daniel1, A A Sippola, A Okwera
1Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-4978.
Setting:
The diagnostic utility of serodiagnosis of tuberculosis in HIV-infected persons was studied in Kampala, Uganda.
Objective:
This study was undertaken to evaluate the utility of a recently described serologic assay for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients.
Design:
The study was undertaken as a cross-sectional survey of 349 subjects, including human immunodeficiency virus-infected and uninfected patients with tuberculosis and control subjects. Serum from each subject was assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for IgG antibody to the 30,000 dalton antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Results:
Test sensitivity dropped from 0.62 in non HIV-infected tuberculous patients to 0.28 in HIV-infected patients.
Conclusions:
ELISA serodiagnosis of tuberculosis may have a markedly decreased utility in populations where HIV infection is prevalent.