This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Abate, G. Articles by Miörner, H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Abate, G. Articles by Miörner, H.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, February 2004, p. 871-873, Vol. 42, No. 2
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.2.871-873.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Direct Colorimetric Assay for Rapid Detection of Rifampin-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Armauer Hansen Research Institute,¹ St. Peter Tuberculosis Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,³ Departments of Internal Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center, St. Louis, Missouri,² Department of Medical Microbiology, Dermatology and Infection, Lund University, Lund, Sweden⁴

Received 26 June 2003/ Returned for modification 18 September 2003/ Accepted 23 October 2003

The colorimetric 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was standardized for direct detection of rifampin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum samples. The sensitivity and specificity of the direct MTT assay matched those of the standard indirect susceptibility assay on 7H10 medium, and interpretable results were obtained for 98.5% of the samples within 2 weeks. Traditional methods of in vitro drug susceptibility testing are time consuming and laborious. Susceptibility tests on clinical isolates require 6 to 9 weeks, and tests conducted directly on smear-positive samples take about 3 weeks (International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, The public health service national tuberculosis reference laboratory and the national laboratory network. Minimum requirements, role and operation in a low-income country, Paris, France, 1998, and P. T. Kent and G. P. Kubica, Public health mycobacteriology. A guide for the level III laboratory, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga., 1985). More-rapid methods are available but are very expensive for routine use under program conditions in countries with high levels of tuberculosis endemicity.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Affolabi, D., Sanoussi, N., Odoun, M., Martin, A., Koukpemedji, L., Palomino, J. C., Kestens, L., Anagonou, S., Portaels, F. (2008). Rapid detection of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Cotonou (Benin) using two low-cost colorimetric methods: resazurin and nitrate reductase assays. J Med Microbiol 57: 1024-1027 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Shiferaw, G., Woldeamanuel, Y., Gebeyehu, M., Girmachew, F., Demessie, D., Lemma, E. (2007). Evaluation of Microscopic Observation Drug Susceptibility Assay for Detection of Multidrug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 1093-1097 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Martin, A., Portaels, F., Palomino, J. C. (2007). Colorimetric redox-indicator methods for the rapid detection of multidrug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Antimicrob Chemother 59: 175-183 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Palomino, J.-C., Martin, A., Portaels, F., Hasan, R., Irfan, S., Moore, D. A.J., Gilman, R. H., Friedland, J. S. (2007). MODS Assay for the Diagnosis of TB. NEJM 356: 188-189 [Full Text]  
• Mohammadzadeh, A., Farnia, P., Ghazvini, K., Behdani, M., Rashed, T., Ghanaat, J. (2006). Rapid and low-cost colorimetric method using 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride for detection of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.. J Med Microbiol 55: 1657-1659 [Abstract] [Full Text]