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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2009, p. 1553-1555, Vol. 47, No. 5
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00348-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

High Sensitivity and Specificity of Acid-Fast Microscopy for Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in an African Population with a High Prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus {triangledown}

Yvonne R. Shea,1 J. Lucian Davis,2,3 Laurence Huang,2,3 Joseph A. Kovacs,4 Henry Masur,4 Francis Mulindwa,3,5 Sally Opus,3,5 Yuenwah Chow,1 and Patrick R. Murray1*

Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland,1 Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital and University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California,2 Makerere University-University of California San Francisco Research Collaboration, Kampala, Uganda,3 Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland,4 Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda5

Received 16 February 2009/ Returned for modification 2 March 2009/ Accepted 5 March 2009

Laboratories in low-income countries report that acid-fast microscopy is insensitive and nonspecific. We demonstrate that for a Ugandan population with high prevalences of tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus infection, acid-fast microscopy is highly sensitive (93.1%) and specific (100%) when performed by trained technologists in a carefully controlled manner using established techniques.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Dept. of Laboratory Medicine, Room 2C385, 10 Center Dr., Bethesda, MD 20892-1508. Phone: (301) 402-9559. Fax: (301) 402-1886. E-mail: Pmurray{at}cc.nih.gov

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 18 March 2009.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2009, p. 1553-1555, Vol. 47, No. 5
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00348-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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