Abstract
BACKGROUND: Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) has a high fatality rate, with inadequate diagnostic tests being a major contributor. The rollout of Xpert MTB/Rif and Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra (Xpert Ultra) have improved time-to-diagnosis with sensitivities similar to culture, yet test availability and sensitivity are inadequate. The TB lipoarabinomannan lateral flow assay (AlereLAM) offers ease of use, but its low sensitivity in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) limits clinical utility for TBM. The Fujifilm SILVAMP TB LAM (FujiLAM) assay has excellent sensitivity in urine, but performance on cerebrospinal fluid is uncertain.
METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, enrolling patients suspected to have TBM. CSF was tested using AlereLAM, Xpert Ultra, culture, and FujiLAM. Results were compared with 2 reference standards: probable and definite TBM or definite TBM alone by the uniform TBM case definition.
RESULTS: Of 101 patients enrolled (95/101 HIV-positive), 34 had definite TBM and 24 had probable TBM. FujiLAM sensitivity on CSF was 52% (30/58) for definite or probable TBM compared with 55% (32/58) for Xpert Ultra. AlereLAM had lower sensitivity than FujiLAM in the subgroup of patients tested with both assays (14% [4/28] vs 50% [14/28]; P < .01). FujiLAM specificity was 98% (42/43) for patients without probable or definite TBM.
CONCLUSIONS: FujiLAM showed higher sensitivity than AlereLAM, with sensitivity potentially approaching that of Xpert Ultra. FujiLAM could improve time-to-treatment-initiation, especially in settings where the more technical Xpert Ultra system might not be feasible. Large confirmatory studies are needed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | E3428-E3434 |
Journal | Clinical Infectious Diseases |
Volume | 73 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 1 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: [email protected].
Keywords
- Fujifilm SILVAMP TB LAM
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- diagnostic accuracy
- lipoarabinomannan
- tuberculous meningitis
- Prospective Studies
- Cerebrospinal Fluid
- Humans
- Lipopolysaccharides
- Diagnostic Tests, Routine
- HIV
- HIV Infections/complications
- Sensitivity and Specificity
- Tuberculosis, Meningeal/diagnosis
- Adult
- Uganda
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Journal Article
- Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural