Pulmonary Tuberculosis Predictors And Rapid Molecular Diagnosis

According to global estimations, there were approximately 10 million new cases of tuberculosis in 2018. Molecular diagnosis constitutes a rapidly growing diagnostic tool for tuberculosis. Risk predictors for pulmonary tuberculosis are varied and they depend on the population studied.The study aimed to assess the performance of M. tuberculosis detection by use of Xpert (R) MTB/RIF diagnostic test to diagnose pulmonary tuberculosis and to identify predictive factors for this disease in patients assisted at Pasteur Hospital in Montevideo.A descriptive, observational and transversal study was conducted, which included 254 patients, 68 of which had pulmonary tuberculosis. Sensitivity of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay to detect M. tuberculosis was 100% (CI 95%: 91.2-100) and specificity 95.1% (CI 95%: 83.9-98.7). Multivariate analysis evidenced the following to be the independent predictors that detect pulmonary tuberculosis: close contact with other cases of tuberculosis (p<0.001), coca-paste consumption (p=0.006) and evidence of loss of weight (p<0,001).To sum up, the Xpert (R) MTB/RIF assay proved to be an excellent diagnostic tool in our population with a high prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis. Independent predictors for this disease show that, in the population studied, control strategies require a multidisciplinary approach.