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The acid-fast bacillus smear has been critical in the rapid diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in resource-limited countries. However, the sensitivity of this technique is limited, and more-useful tools such as molecular tests have not been an option due to the cost of training and equipment.
In a partially industry-funded, multinational trial involving 1730 patients with suspected pulmonary TB, researchers examined the performance of an automated molecular test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and resistance to rifampin (RIF). The test involves only one manual step: adding a bactericidal buffer to sputum before transferring a defined volume of sputum to a cartridge. The cartridge is inserted in the test apparatus, and results are …