Commercial Tests for Diagnosing Pulmonary Tuberculosis
Author Information
Author(s): Steingart Karen R, Henry Megan, Laal Suman, Hopewell Philip C, Ramsay Andrew, Menzies Dick, Cunningham Jane, Weldingh Karin, Pai Madhukar
Primary Institution: University of California, San Francisco
Hypothesis
Do commercial antibody detection tests work for diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis?
Conclusion
None of the commercial tests evaluated perform well enough to replace sputum smear microscopy.
Supporting Evidence
- Overall, commercial tests vary widely in performance.
- Sensitivity is higher in smear-positive than smear-negative samples.
- Anda-TB IgG shows limited sensitivity and inconsistent specificity.
- Specificity is higher in healthy volunteers than in patients suspected of having tuberculosis.
- There are insufficient data to determine the accuracy of most commercial tests in smear-negative patients.
Takeaway
The study looked at different tests to find tuberculosis, but none of them are good enough to replace the standard test that uses a sample of mucus.
Methodology
A systematic review of studies assessing the accuracy of commercial antibody detection tests for pulmonary tuberculosis.
Potential Biases
Lack of blinding in many studies may have led to overestimation of test sensitivity.
Limitations
Many studies were of poor quality, and there were no studies involving children or HIV-positive patients.
Participant Demographics
No studies involved children or HIV-positive individuals.
Statistical Information
Confidence Interval
95% CI 0.86–0.92
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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