Rapid diagnostic tests for tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is still an important heath issue in developing countries. According to low sensitivity of sputum smear and prolonged declaration of culture results, we reviewed rapid diagnostic tests for tuberculosis in this article.

Electronic databases (PubMed and Embase) were searched from 1990 to 2010 for rapid diagnostic tests. Key words like tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rapid tests were used. In this review article we discussed about the accuracy of rapid diagnostic tests for the diagnosis of tuberculosis.

Serologic and enzyme tests such as adenosine deaminase and cytokines revealed different results. Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATS) provided higher accuracy for sputum positive pulmonary TB. The specificity of NAATS was high in pulmonary and extra pulmonary tuberculosis. Automated liquid culture (radiometric and non-radiometric) had higher speed and accuracy in comparison to conventional solid media culture.

Despite many efforts for rapid detection of TB, sputum microscopic smears and cultures remain the principal diagnostic tests for TB patients. Sophosticated equipments and experienced personels are usually required for performing some of the newer rapid diagnostic tests. Investigation for novel rapid diagnostic tests are ongoing.