論文ID: JJID.2020.921
Sputum microscopy and Xpert MTB/RIF are the primary rapid diagnostic methods for tuberculosis (TB) in Nepal. Disagreements among Xpert, microscopy, and culture, for example, cases with Xpert positive and microscopy negative, were frequently observed in Nepal including in our reference laboratory. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Xpert with culture and microscopy for TB diagnosis in Nepal. A total of 125 TB suspected sputum samples were processed for Xpert, microscopy, and culture. The Xpert results when compared with culture showed 100% sensitivity and 97.4% specificity with an excellent agreement (kappa = 0.96), whereas microscopy showed the sensitivity and specificity of 43.2% and 98.7%, respectively, with a moderate agreement (kappa = 0.4). The sensitivity and specificity of microscopy, when compared with Xpert, were 43.5% and 100%, respectively. The majority of Xpert positive samples of a medium MTB detection and all samples of low and very low MTB detection were missed by microscopy. Our study showed that Xpert MTB/RIF is a reliable tool for the diagnosis and management of TB in Nepal. Because of its high cost and sustainability, alternative simple and rapid diagnostic methods with a similar efficiency would be helpful for TB control in Nepal.