skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Direct antimicrobial drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by the radiometric method

Journal Article · · Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis.; (United States)

Direct-drug-susceptibility tests were performed on clinical specimens positive for acid-fast bacilli by either Ziehl-Neelsen or fluorochrome staining. The results of conventional agar dilution and a modified radiometric (BACTEC) method were compared. A total of 580 smear-positive specimens were tested by the BACTEC method at three separate sites. Three hundred and seventy-seven of these were culture positive for M. tuberculosis, and 343 (91%) yielded acceptable direct-susceptibility-test results. We used the conventional method to determine that 343 of 519 smear-positive specimens were culture positive for M. tuberculosis, and 212 (62%) produced acceptable results within 3 wks. Conventional results were reported in 3-4 wks, while the time required to obtain results with the BACTEC method ranged from 5 to 21 days (average 11.5 days). Results indicate that the radiometric method provides reportable results more frequently with time savings as compared to the conventional method.

Research Organization:
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore (USA)
OSTI ID:
6560367
Journal Information:
Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis.; (United States), Vol. 10:1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English