THE DETECTION RATE OF PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS USING GENEXPERT MTB/RIF AMONG PATIENTS WITH SUSPECTED PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS AT NINH THUAN GENERAL HOSPITAL
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Abstract
Background: Vietnam is among the 30 countries with the highest burden of tuberculosis. The GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay is a WHO-recommended molecular diagnostic tool aimed at improving the detection of tuberculosis. Objectives: 1. To determine the detection rate of pulmonary tuberculosis using GeneXpert MTB/RIF among patients with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis at Ninh Thuan General Hospital in 2025; and 2. To assess the level of agreement between GeneXpert MTB/RIF and direct acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear microscopy using Ziehl–Neelsen (ZN) staining in detecting pulmonary tuberculosis. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 114 patients with clinical symptoms or chest X-ray abnormalities suggestive of pulmonary tuberculosis. Sputum samples were tested using GeneXpert MTB/RIF and direct AFB smear microscopy with ZN staining. Results: The detection rate of pulmonary tuberculosis by GeneXpert MTB/RIF was 32.5%, significantly higher than that of direct AFB smear microscopy using ZN staining, which was 14.9% (p<0.001). Rifampicin resistance was detected in 4/114 cases, accounting for 3.5%. The two tests showed a moderate level of agreement, with a Kappa value of 0.535. When compared with GeneXpert MTB/RIF, all AFB positive cases were also GeneXpert positive; however, AFB smear microscopy detected only 45.9% of GeneXpert positive cases. The overall agreement between the two tests was 82.5%. Conclusions: GeneXpert MTB/RIF showed a higher detection rate of pulmonary tuberculosis than direct AFB smear microscopy using ZN staining among patients with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis and also detected rifampicinresistant cases. The two tests showed moderate agreement.
Keywords
GeneXpert MTB/RIF, suspected pulmonary tuberculosis, Ninh Thuan General Hospital
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